The Twoleg Warrior
by Glacierclaw
Summary: A girl named Cathan Slone is suddenly turned into a cat. She leaves her home and goes into ThunderClan camp where they give her the name Glacierpaw. But what happens when she discovers that her secret could save the Clan?
1. Chapter One :Prologue:

Hey! I'm back! This is chapter one of my new story, The Twoleg Warrior. Read it!

**CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR THE NEW PROPHECY!**

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Chapter One - Prologue 

I jerked awake suddenly. The dream had been so real. So incredibly real. There was no mistaking it – it had been from StarClan.

Quietly, I rose to my paws, preparing myself to tell Firestar about it. Deeper into the cave, my apprentice, Leafpaw, slept. She was Firestar's daughter, but looked nothing like him. Squirrelpaw was Leafpaw's sister, and had a flame-colored pelt, but was the most annoying cat I had ever met.

I padded silently out into the night. The cool air ruffled my gray pelt. I passed the apprentices' den and spotted Sorrelpaw sleeping inside, one of her legs stuck out awkwardly, sleeping next to Squirrelpaw, her friend. Sandstorm's apprentice had been hit by a Twoleg monster on the Thunderpath and the Clan had been afraid she wouldn't make it – like me.

But Sorrelpaw had pulled through, and her leg would be fine. Her brothers, Sootfur and Rainwhisker, had been made warriors while she stayed in my den. Tomorrow, however, she would receive her warrior name.

Firestar's den was just ahead, beneath the Highrock. I padded quickly forward, but suddenly leapt back, tail fluffed out, eyes wild!

I spotted a sleeping dark brown tabby in the warriors' den – oh, great StarClan, Cinderpelt, it had just been Brambleclaw! I let out a soft sigh. Like Firestar, I had never gotten over how much Brambleclaw looks like his horrible father, Tigerstar.

The elders' den was filled by Frostfur, Dappletail, Speckletail, and Longtail. The poor pale tabby warrior had started to become blind, and had to move into the elders' den even though he was still a young cat. I felt the familiar pang of sympathy as I gazed at him from across the clearing.

I entered Firestar's den quietly. The fire-pelted tom was asleep, curled up into a ball. I hesitated, then prodded him awake with a paw.

"Firestar," I whispered. "Firestar!"

A grunt. Then,

"Cinderpelt?" he murmured. He stared up at me, concerned and tired. "What is it?"

"A message from StarClan, Firestar," I answered. "They have given me permission to tell you about it."

Firestar's eyes grew wild and excited. "What is the message?"

"I'll tell you." I paused. "The human warrior comes to the Clan soon."

Firestar stared.

"The what? What's a human?"

"I don't know," I confessed. "I have never heard of that word."

Firestar thought hard. "The human _warrior_…? Warrior? Only cats can be warriors. Unless a human is a type of cat or something…"

"Whatever it is, it is coming to the Clan." I sighed. "We'll have to be ready for it, whatever it is."

I stared into the sky outside Firestar's den. A single cloud was in the air, surrounded by Silverpelt. As I watched, the single cloud formed into what looked awfully like a cat's head! Gasping, I leapt backwards, landing on Firestar.

"Ouch! Cinderpelt –"

I scrambled awkwardly to my feet, my injured leg toppling me over. I listened to what the cat's head had to say.

"The silver and white cat will enter ThunderClan, Cinderpelt," she whispered. "She is destined to join the Clan, and will lead it through times of trouble. But beware of the secret she holds."

"Beware of the secret she holds," I murmured. "Beware of…"

The cloud disappeared completely.

"Cinderpelt?"

It was Firestar. I turned around and faced my Clan leader.

"Sorry, Firestar," I mewed. "But I have just received another message from StarClan."

Firestar waited anxiously. I repeated the warning our Clan leader had given me. He twitched his ears thoughtfully.

"So another cat will join the Clan," he mused. "A kittypet? A loner? A rogue?"

"She did not say," I replied. "Just that a silver and white cat will enter ThunderClan."

Firestar paused, thinking hard. Then, "I guess we'll just have to wait until this she-cat shows herself to us."

I nodded. "That is the only thing we can do."

"Don't tell the Clan about this, okay, Cinderpelt? I'll tell Graystripe, though, he needs to know…"

I twitched my tail in agreement. "Right, Firestar. Good night."

"Good night, Cinderpelt."

I padded quietly back into my den, pausing to look around the clearing, as though the named cat would show herself at any moment. But I saw nothing of the sort. Feeling both excited and discouraged, I settled down in my nest and fell asleep.

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Well, it's short, but what can you expect from a prologue? The next chapter will be along soon. 


	2. Chapter Two

Chapter Two

"Cathan! You'd better start washing the car. Hurry up!"

I let out a sigh, pausing as I scrubbed the windows inside. I had already washed the bathroom, restarted the computer, organized my parents' room, and probably more things that I can't think of at the moment…I gave the window a final scrub and put down the washcloth, pausing again in front of a certain picture.

My parents had made me work so much ever since our cat left us. Our cat, named Rusty, used to live here – but he ran away. He had just been a kitten, and a wonderful cat. Thanks to him, my parents had gone evil on me! I'm serious; they don't wait a second for me to sit down and enjoy myself – they're always having me doing some sort of chore.

If I ever see Rusty again…I don't know what I'll do. He was the reason my parents had gone nuts – they missed him so much. Our new housecat, named Hershey, was not exactly the type of cat that Rusty had been. She spent all her time outside, hanging out with other cats most likely.

I walked outside, the summer sun blazing down on me. There was a good thing and a bad thing about summer – the fact that there was no school to deal with doing every chore in the house, but that I sunburn very easily.

I dipped the sponges into the bucket and began to wash the stupid red Jetta.

By the way, my name is Cathan Slone. Then, I was thirteen – I had recently turned thirteen in July. I had long, straight, black hair that practically went down to my waist.

"Cathan!"

It was my mom, coming out of the house. She was sort of…stout, I'll say, and she had these bags under her eyes like I had seen her wear for the past three years since Rusty left us.

"Do the laundry after this," she snapped. "And hurry up. John wants you to wash the TV screen – he says it's getting too dusty."

She left inside the house.

I stood there, feeling lost and abandoned. Dad was a real tool – he just spent all day in front of the TV, watching whatever. And Mom probably would have said Dad instead of John a few years ago. It's amazing what losing a cat can do to people!

So I entered the house and dusted off the TV for Dad. He hardly looked at me and didn't say thank you as I walked away.

Later that night, as I stared out the window next to my bed, I could just see a dark brown cat pad into our yard and through the kitty door. Hershey, I thought, rolling my eyes, stupid cat. I could also see a band of about four cats – one, a gray cat with long hair, as well as a slightly orange cat, and another with long white hair, and finally a large ginger kitty with fur like the sun.

What was so familiar about that last kitty? What?

As I watched them, the four of them crept silently through the houses, sniffing intently, as though looking for something. As they crept closer, I could see that they were incredibly thin – not house cats, I realized. These cats had to live in the forest!

Someone should do something about them, I thought, falling back onto my bed. Cats can't just be running free in the forest.

I fell asleep quickly after that, and had a strange dream. I was standing right in the middle of four enormous trees – in front of me was a blue-gray cat. I could tell that it was a girl because it was small.

"Kitty," I said aloud, reaching forward to touch her. But the cat stayed just out of my reach.

And then…the cat spoke. I leapt back in surprise.

"ThunderClan awaits you, Glacierpaw," she whispered. "Don't be afraid. Accept your destiny."

Glacierpaw? ThunderClan? What the…

My eyes snapped open suddenly. I was staring intently on my bedroom ceiling. Hold on, I wasn't staring intently like that – that was just the way my eyes were. What the heck? I could never see this well!

My covers had slid just above my nose and was very hot and uncomfortable. I tried to move the covers away from me, but I couldn't do it. Like my arms wouldn't move that way.

What is going on? I thought, beginning to panic. I flipped over and rolled onto my feet. That was better. I walked forward with all four feet touching the blanket – wait a minute – four feet!

I leapt back in shock and amazement and stared down at my hands. Paws. They were covered in silver fur, and were flecked with white stripes. I leapt down from the bed and ran to the mirror. From the looks of my fluffy fur, I was quite young, probably about six months. My fur was silver with unusual white stripes on the back, making me look very cool. My tail was longer than usual and had a white tip.

I would have said I was cute if I weren't so freaked. I mean, I was a cat! A kitten! What has happened to me? I had to be dreaming. I had to –

Dream. The dream. What was it that cat had said? ThunderClan awaits you…Glacierpaw? What was Glacierpaw and ThunderClan? Don't be afraid. Accept your destiny…Was this my destiny, to become a cat?

My parents would know what had happened to me. Wouldn't they?

I pushed the door open with my head. Everything was enormous to me. It all looked as though it had grown about five feet – but the truth was I had shrunk.

So I padded quickly into the living room, where my dad was already up – watching the TV and drinking a Mike's, what else. I pushed against his leg and put my paws on the couch.

"Dad! Dad! Help! I'm trapped as a cat!" I cried.

What I really said was, "Meow! Mewww, meow, meow!"

"Arrrghh!" exclaimed my dad, his Mike's flying. "A cat! A cat!"

"What?" came my mom's voice. "What's going – oh, Hershey, you've brought a friend, have you?"

Hershey? I thought, looking around wildly for the dark brown cat. But I didn't see her anywhere.

"Get it away!" screamed Dad.

"Oh, but John, it's just a sweet little kitty – and still a kitten at that! We should let it stay. Give it a home here."

"Can't trust cats, they might run away," grumbled Dad.

"Oh, don't be ridiculous; this kitty won't be like Rusty," cooed Mom, reaching forward to pick me up.

And that was exactly the time when Hershey decided to show up.

The dark brown cat barreled into me, sending my rolling across the floor. Instinctively, my claws unsheathed, slicing into Hershey's flank. She yowled and let go of my neck, giving me time to run. I hurried out the door, and by the sounds of the quick footsteps behind me, I knew she was following me.

I tore into the sunlight, blinking. Right. I knew this yard. It all smelled like me. I raced into the yard beyond, scrambling up the fence. Hershey let out a yowl and pounced at my tail, just scraping the white tip. I screeched, and leapt away.

My paws hit dirt and gravel and I scrambled up again, facing Hershey on the fence. The dark brown cat was staring at me, lashing her tail in both fear and triumph – I realized that she had never gone into the forest behind me before, and was pleased that she had chased me away from her territory. I let out a hiss and unsheathed my claws, padding nervously into the forest.

I couldn't go home, I thought as I walked faster. My parents both thought I was a cat. What would they do when they realized I wasn't there? And I didn't want to stay in the yard – not when there were fierce cats protecting their territory.

Stupid.

I stopped suddenly. What if the cats in here were even tougher than the cats in the neighborhood? I had to get out of here. I turned to leave, and then –

"Rowrr!"

A ferocious yowl! Claws in my back!

I leapt backwards, hissing and spitting. At first I thought it was Hershey again – but no, this dark brown cat was a guy, because of his size and smell. His lips were drawn back in a snarl, and he kept his claws unsheathed.

There were three cats in all – the dark brown cat, and a smaller brown girl cat, as well as a golden-brown tabby kitty, a boy.

"Why are you on our territory?" snarled the first cat.

I leapt away in fear when I realized I could only speak to cats.

"I…I…" I stammered.

"Dustpet, wait," said the golden-brown cat, "this is just a kit. By the smell of it, I don't think it belongs to Twolegs."  
"Maybe not, Brackenfur," replied Dustpelt, "but we still have to be careful."

"We should take her to Firestar," mused the small girl cat. "See what he thinks about this."

"Mousefur – good idea," agreed Dustpelt. He walked behind me and nudged me forward. "Follow Mousefur and Brackenfur," he instructed. "And don't think about running either."

I was trembling too much to think about speaking or running away. Silently, I followed them quickly, sprinting through the trees. I can't keep up! I wanted to exclaim, but I didn't want to appear weak to these cats, so I said nothing.

At last, we slipped in through a hole in the bushes and I found myself in a clearing that contained at least thirty cats. As a gazed around, amazed, I hardly noticed Dustpelt speaking.

"Hurry up, she-cat," he growled. Oh, she-cat! That was what girl kitties were called. I guess I didn't have to call them that anymore. But what about boys? "Our leader is waiting."

What was his leader's name again? I wondered as we padded forward. Cats turned and stared at me as we passed, and they muttered to one another. The leader's den was a small cave beneath a larger rock. We entered, my tail twitching nervously.

An amazing cat with a flame-colored pelt sat in front of us, his paws drawn under his chest. It had to have been the cat that I had seen the night before, when I was human! That sounded weird. But why did this cat seem so familiar to me?

"We found this one in the woods, Firestar," said Dustpelt, dipping his head. I guessed it was a gesture of respect. "We thought we'd take her to you."

"A loner or a kittypet?" asked Firestar.

"We couldn't tell," replied Brackenfur. "She has a very strange scent."

And that was when I blurted out a name that I hoped I would never say again.

"Rusty!"

The large boy cat turned to face me, his eyes widening in alarm. Rusty! I thought, my claws digging into the earth. What had I said I would do to him if I ever saw him again? Firestar stared at me for a few seconds before mewing, "She's a kittypet. She must have heard my old name from the cats in the Twolegplace yard."

I thought I could see an expression of amusement on Dustpelt, but he didn't compliment on it. "Then what do we do?"

"Wait a minute!" I burst out, "I don't know any of the cats in the yard back there." I decided not to tell them that I had once been a human – I could go no place else, and these cats seemed friendly enough.

Firestar narrowed his eyes thoughtfully at me. "Then you are a loner? How do you know my name?"

"Yes, I, I am a loner," I mumbled, not answering his second question. "I have no place else to go. All the cats seemed to be so evil toward me…"

"We could take her to Barley's farm, Firestar," suggested Mousefur. "Leave her with him and Ravenpaw."

But Firestar shook his head. "No," he said. "This one has to be about six moons old." Moons? I thought. He must mean months. "Maybe…"

"You're not serious," said Dustpelt. "A loner in ThunderClan? Our Clan will be known for accepting cats from the outside forest."

"We could use the cats," he said.

It was then when a long-haired gray boy cat entered the den. He leapt back in alarm at the sight of me and padded over to Firestar.

"She's from out of the Clan," he murmured. "A loner with no place to go."

"This has to be the one!" hissed the gray cat. "This has to be the cat StarCla –"

"Graystripe!" Firestar cuffed him on the ear. He purred warmly and faced me. "All right, she-cat. Your fate has been decided."

He sounded like a judge, telling me that I would spend the rest of my life in prison.

"You will be an apprentice of ThunderClan, and train with the other apprentices," he announced, and my heart leapt with joy.

I would be an apprentice of ThunderClan, whatever that meant.

"I'll announce your arrival to the Clan now," added Firestar. He padded out of the den, with Graystripe, Dustpelt, Mousefur, Brackenfur, and I following him.

I could just see Firestar leapt upon the Highrock. "Let all cats old enoguh to catch their own prey join me beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!" he yowled.

Instantly, all the cats in the camp crowded around their leader. He saw me waiting anxiously at the foot of his den, and he flicked his tail at me. I guessed it meant I was supposed to come to him, and he didn't laugh or complain about when I complied.

"This young she-cat was found wandering in the forest," he began. Some cats glanced at each other nervously, wondering what their leader was about to say. "She is apparently a loner, and has no other place to go." He paused. "I have decided to accept her into ThunderClan."

Silence. Dead silence.

Then an old she-cat yowled out from her den with other older cats. "Firestar, you were a kittypet and look at you now! I think you're making the right decision, bringing this cat in."

"Thank you, Speckletail," said Firestar, his whiskers twitching with both embarrassment and pleasure. "Now, you…" He faced me. "You need a name."

He paused, studying me closely. Then he leaned forward and whispered, "Your pelt is like ice on a mountain." Firestar raised his voice to the Clan. "From this day forward, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be known as Glacierpaw, in honor of her ice-like pelt."

The cats gave their yowls of approval in loud, pleased voices. Glacierpaw, I thought. There's something familiar about that as well.

"Glacierpaw! Glacierpaw!" chanted the cats.

Firestar waited for silence. "Since Glacierpaw does not have a mentor," he said, "her mentor will be Brambleclaw."

A dark brown tabby bowed his head proudly.

"Brambleclaw, I hope I was an excellent mentor to you – share all I taught you to this young apprentice."

"Of course," he replied, and walked forward to touch noses with me. I shook with pleasure and excitement as I returned the gesture to my new mentor.

As Firestar leapt down from the Highrock in signal that the meeting was over, he turned and faced me. "Before you meet the other apprentices, Glacierpaw," he mewed, "I must first ask you something."

My heart lurched horribly as I padded after Firestar and into his den, wondering if he was going to ask me how I knew his old name. But he just faced me and said,

"So, Glacierpaw, the newest apprentice, have you heard or seen anything…odd? I mean, the Clan can't keep secrets from each other, you know." He paused. "So…do you know anything?"

I stared into his bright green eyes. Of course, Firestar, I thought, I was once a human. Does that count?

But I couldn't tell him that. He might kick me out. He might…I don't know, kill be because of it. How was I supposed to know how Clan leaders behaved?

But all I said was, "I'm sorry, Firestar, I don't know anything."

He bowed his head. I could see disappointment in his eyes. "All right, well…"

"But I have a question for you, Firestar," I added. "Um…well, last night, when I was wandering the…" I thought rapidly about what to say next. Houses? Neighborhood? "Twolegplace, I saw you, Graystripe, and two other cats looking for something."

"You saw us?" He sounded impressed. "Well. Yes, we were looking for one of our warriors." Firestar let out a sigh. "Rainwhisker was taken by Twolegs. We were hoping that he might be in one of the houses, but we saw nothing of him."

"Oh…" I paused. "Okay. Erm, what exactly is a Twoleg?"

Firestar twitched his whiskers in surprise. "A Twoleg is…erm…the tall animals with, well, two legs. They have strange, separated paws."

"Oh!" I almost laughed in amusement, but cats can't exactly laugh. He meant a human. "All right, Firestar. Thank you."

He nodded. "You'd better get to know your denmates, Glacierpaw," he said. "Off you go."

"Of course, Firestar," I replied, determined to impress him with politeness. I padded off into the clearing.

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Sigh…sorry for not getting this up sooner. My cat just erupted in his litter box and it was…well…too stinky to type. So, er, anyway, review! 


	3. Chapter Three

Chapter Three

The apprentices' den was a rather small den covered with bushes. There were two apprentices there: a white she-cat with green eyes and a small dark brown boy cat.

"Hello," said the white she-cat. "You're Glacierpaw, aren't you? The new cat?"

"That's right," I answered. "What are your names?"

"I'm Whitepaw, and this is Shrewpaw," replied the white she-cat. I guess all the apprentices are named _paw _until…when? When do they earn their name like Brambleclaw or Speckletail?

I sat down beside them, hoping that I could make friends.

"Your mentor is Brambleclaw?" asked Shrewpaw curiously. "Wow. I wouldn't trust Brambleclaw. Have you heard of Tigerstar?"

"No."

"Shrewpaw!" exclaimed Whitepaw, cuffing him on the ear. "How could you say that? Brambleclaw's as loyal to ThunderClan as you or me."

"But the way he resembles Tigerstar…it's rather creepy."

"What did Tigerstar do?" I asked.

Whitepaw shivered, her eyes wide. "Oh, he was horrible…we have heard many tales about him, even if he wasn't around when we were born."

"He tried to make the forest completely his," said Shrewpaw. "First, he killed off Redtail, ThunderClan's deputy, thinking that he'd be made deputy."

"But he wasn't," continued Whitepaw. "Bluestar – that was the leader back then – chose Lionheart instead. But then Lionheart died in a battle against ShadowClan, and he was finally made deputy – until Firestar revealed the truth."

"Fireheart," corrected Whitepaw. "He was a warrior then, Whitepaw. Anyway, Fireheart really got Tigerclaw when he tried to murder Bluestar in her den. He was exiled for that, and for the murder of Redtail. But then Tigerclaw became Tigerstar when he became ShadowClan leader!"

"We hadn't revealed the truth about him to other Clans," added Whitepaw. "Moons later, Tigerstar sent a dog pack after ThunderClan for revenge. But Fireheart and the other ThunderClan cats figured out what was happening. Even so, the dogs knocked Bluestar in the river where she died, once she was pulled from it."

She let out a sigh, shaking her head. "Tigerstar finally died in a battle with BloodClan – a Clan consisting of kittypets to rule the forest."

"Good riddence," growled Shrewpaw.

"And so Tawnypelt, Brambleclaw's sister, moved to ShadowClan during the time when Tigerstar created TigerClan – consisting of ShadowClan and RiverClan. She has been there ever since."

"And if you're ever wondering what Tigerstar looks like," said Shrewpaw, "just have a good look at Brambleclaw. He looks exactly like him."

"Wow…" I mumbled, amazed by how evil a cat could be for power. Then I decided to change the subject. "So, er, who are your mentors?" I asked.

"My mentor is Brackenfur," answered Whitepaw proudly. "He's really cool. He just taught me how to climb a tree."

"Well, Thornclaw taught me how to catch a rabbit," said Shrewpaw. "He's way better than Brackenfur."

"But Brackenfur has been around longer!"

At that moment, a golden brown tabby appeared at the apprentices' den. I assumed it was Thornclaw because he said, "Time for training, Shrewpaw."

"Sure, Thornclaw," he replied, and padded out of the den beside his mentor, with a smug look at Whitepaw.

She let out a sigh. "That Shrewpaw thinks he knows everything," she muttered. Whitepaw looked at me. "So, anyway, that's my mother and father." She nodded toward a pair of white cats by the fresh-kill pile, one of them with ginger patches. "Cloudtail and Brightheart. Brightheart was injured by dogs when she was an apprentice, but look at her now! 'Course, it was Cloudtail who taught her how to hunt and fight again."

I spotted Brambleclaw beside the fresh-kill pile (which had dead mice and birds and rabbits in it! Gross!) and braced myself when he padded over to me.

"Hello Glacierpaw, Whitepaw," he said.

"Hello."

Brambleclaw sat, his tail curled around his paws. "Glacierpaw, your assignment at the moment is to get to know the cats in the Clan." He looked at the white she-cat sitting beside me. "Whitepaw, can you show her around the camp?"

"Sure, Brambleclaw," she answered.

Brambleclaw nodded and stalked away.

"Right," said Whitepaw, standing up. "I'll show you where everything is, okay, Glacierpaw?"

"Sweet," I said, and Whitepaw gave me this bewildered look. "I mean, great," I stammered, realizing that I'd have to be careful about the way I spoke.

Whitepaw took me over to the medicine cat's den, where she explained that medicine cats looked after the sick and injured, and scarcely knew how to fight. Cinderpelt, a friendly dark gray she-cat, greeted me respectfully.

"I will be looking forward to see how you do, Glacierpaw," she said. Something about the look she gave me… it was intimidating, like she was expecting something from me. "This is my apprentice, Leafpaw."

A light brown tabby she-cat appeared from the back of the den.

"Hello, Glacierpaw," she said. "I'm Firestar's daughter."

"Really!" I exclaimed. "Wow. That's really cool! I mean, good! I mean, great!"

Leafpaw stared at me, glanced at her mentor, and said, "My sister is Squirrelpaw."

"Squirrelpaw?" I repeated, trying not to laugh at the name. Leafpaw flicked her tail toward the entrance to the camp. For a second I thought I was looking at a younger Firestar – but no, this was a she-cat, and she had one white paw. She put her fresh-kill down in the pile and looked pleased when her mentor, Dustpelt, congradulated her.

"Squirrelpaw!" Leafpaw called.

The ginger she-cat looked up, and padded over to me. Her green eyes focused on me intently.

"This is the cat that Dustpelt found in the woods?" she asked, her harsh voice shocking me. "Well, he should at least find a cat older than this. And she's not exactly tough-looking, is she?"

Squirrelpaw turned around and stalked away, picking up a piece of fresh-kill to bring to someone else.

"You'll have to forgive Squirrelpaw," said Leafpaw, dipping her head to me. "She's been in such a bad mood since Dustpelt caught her wandering the forest alone, looking for something to do."

I nodded once and said nothing.

Whitepaw nudged me. "Come on, Glacierpaw, you've still got stuff to see."

"Right," I said as we padded away. "Bye, Leafpaw! Cinderpelt!"

Whitepaw showed me where the elders' den was, which was occupied by Frostfur, Dappletail, Speckletail, and Longtail. God, it's like the invasion of the tails in the elders' den. But when my blue eyes settled on Longtail, I couldn't resist saying,

"But he looks like he's still a young cat. Why is he in the elders' den?"

Longtail fixed me awkwardly with a intent stare, though I noticed that he was looking somewhere on my tail.

Whitepaw nudged me. "Shut up, Glacierpaw!" she hissed. I flinched. She dipped her head to the elders. "So, have you, er, heard any gossip lately?"

"Not really, except that Rainwhisker was taken by Twolegs," said Dappletail. "That's about it."

Whitepaw nodded. "Thanks, Dappletail!" she said, and led me away.

"So what was that all about?" I asked. "What's up with Longtail?"

Whitepaw glared at me. "He's going blind, you stupid furball," she snapped. "Don't speak until you have all the answers."

"Yes, _Brambleclaw_," I wanted to say, but instead I just said, "I didn't know."

"Well, now you do." Whitepaw nudged me to show that we were still friends.

The warriors' den was, well, where the warriors slept. Whitepaw explained to me that she and I were apprentices, training to be warriors. Our warrior names would come once we proved ourselves able to obtain them.

And then we came to the nursery. There was only one queen with kits in there, Ferncloud, and her mate was Dustpelt. Goldenflower had no kits, but was helping watch over them. And when we came inside the nursery to see the kits…oh, man, can you say cuteness? There were two toms and a she-cat: Larchkit, Birchkit, and Hollykit. They were incredibly small and were still at that playfighting age, and when they saw me, the she-cat, Hollykit, said,

"Look! New cat." Her voice became a growl. "Attack new cat."

"Yeah, attack!" cried Birchkit.

"No!" exclaimed Ferncloud, wrapping her tail around the two of them. Only Larchkit stayed silent. "Hollykit, Birchkit, meet Glacierpaw. She's a new apprentice of ThunderClan."

"Not in here. Never here."

"No," agreed their mother. "She's a loner."

At this, the kits' fur began to bristle. Ferncloud let out a sigh.

"I'm afraid they don't really understand a lot of…things yet," she said. "If they were a bit older, they'd welcome you, Glacierpaw."

"Right," I said, purring with laughter.

"I think that's the end of the tour," mused Whitepaw as we walked out of the nursery. "So. We have the rest of the day to ourselves."

I looked up at the sky. It was still relatively early – I had only been a cat for about an hour. Maybe it would wear off, I thought, and then laughed at the idea. If I suddenly turned into a human when I was surrounded by all these cats – it would be hilarious!

Did I even want to be human again? What was there if I did? Parents that barely noticed me? But as this cat…and this Clan…I had friends. Whitepaw, maybe Shrewpaw. Brambleclaw. Firestar. Not Firestar, I thought suddenly, my stomach clenching with anger.

"Glacierpaw! Wake up!"

Whitepaw's voice struck my ear. I blinked, and turned toward the white-pelted she-cat, who was staring at me.

"What?"

"You were staring into space," she said. "You okay?"

"I…yeah," I answered with a purr. "I'm fine. Sorry."

"Anyway, let's go find Brambleclaw. Maybe he'll take you on a training session."

"Good idea," I agreed.

We padded over to the warriors' den, but only Sandstorm, Ashfur, and Sootfur were there.

"Where's Brambleclaw?" asked Whitepaw.

"I don't know," answered Sandstorm with a shrug. Firestar's mate yawned. "Go ask Graystripe."

As we padded away, I looked at Whitepaw and said, "Why do we have to ask Graystripe?"

"Because he's deputy of ThunderClan," she answered. "He organizes the patrols and stuff. So he'll know where he sent Brambleclaw."

We found Graystripe by the fresh-kill pile. The long-haired gray warrior looked up and said,

"I sent Brambleclaw on a patrol by Sunningrocks with Brightheart, Cloudtail, Mousefur, Sorreltail, and Spiderpaw. They'll be back soon."

"Okay, thanks," I said, and turned toward the apprentices' den. "Who's Spiderpaw?" I had heard another 'paw.'

"He's Mousefur's apprentice," said Whitepaw. "He looks exactly like a spider!" Her whiskers twitched in amusement. "He's nice, though. Nice and quiet, like Leafpaw."

"Er..." I hesitated before saying, "what exactly is a...male kitty - I mean, a male cat called?"

Whitepaw stared at me as though I had grown an extra head.

"A tom, Glacierpaw," she said. "A tom."

"Oh, thanks...sorry, I've beena loner for so long that...well, you know how it is. Anyway, is it…all right if I sleep?" I asked her, settling down in a nest of moss.

Whitepaw purred. "Sure," she said. "You've had a long day. Brackenfur already took me out on a training session, and I'm so tired that I…" She never finished her sentence. The white she-cat fell into her nest, asleep.

Purring with amusement, I curled up in my own nest, quickly falling asleep.

* * *

Okay…pretty boring chapter…next chapter, something happens, I promise. It'll be up very soon. 


	4. Chapter Four

Chapter Four

"Glacierpaw. Wake up."

Something prodded me on the side. I let out a small growl. No, Mom, I will not wake up. I won't do any more of all those stupid chores; I've had enough of them. But when I opened my eyes I saw not Mom – but Brambleclaw's amber gaze above me.

"Your first training session is right now, Glacierpaw," he said. "I'll take you on a tour of the territory, okay?"

"Cool! I mean, sure!" I exclaimed, bouncing to my feet. I cursed myself for being so careless about what I said.

Brambleclaw purred and led me out of the den.

The forest was slightly darker than it had been in the morning – it was rather late in the day now, but not completely dark. As we walked by the fresh-kill pile, which I will never get used to seeing, I spotted a young long-limbed black tom with a brown underbelly and amber eyes.

"Is that Spiderpaw?" I asked Brambleclaw.

The dark brown tom shot a look behind him and said, "Yes, it is. He's Mousefur's apprentice."

I almost said that he was cute – if he was human. Then I shook that thought away. Whoa, what was wrong with me? I was a human; not a cat. Then again, hadn't I already decided that I had accepted the fact that I would be a cat forever? So was there a crime in liking another cat?

I thought all about that as I exited the tunnel leading out into the forest. I drank in a sweet scent of outside of the camp, and hastily padded after Brambleclaw.

As soon as we were out, Brambleclaw had gone to the left of the territory. I struggled to keep up as he leapt nimbly over every root sticking up, every fallen log, every rock. I was surprised at how tired I already was. Just when I was thinking that I should yell out that I was exhausted, Brambleclaw came to a halt in front of a rushing river.

"This is the, well, the river," he said. "Across from here is RiverClan territory. They excel at hunting fish, and are incredible swimmers because of it."

"Because the fish they eat makes their pelt more water-resistant?" I blurted.

Brambleclaw looked impressed. "That's right," he said. "Now, over here…" He padded downstream, and I followed. "Here is the falls. Quite a few cats have died here. I heard that a RiverClan warrior, Whiteclaw, fell into it."

The falls was a small waterfall – but that didn't stop it from surrounded by sharp rocks. It looked harmless to a human, deadly to a cat.

"Down here are the Sunningrocks," said Brambleclaw, padding in the opposite direction. "RiverClan has tried many times to steal them from us, but we have always taken them back."

Farther downstream, we crossed the river, where it was shallow. I didn't mind being in the water so much, and I followed Brambleclaw without complaint. He was waiting for me at the foot of a tree.

"There's an owl up there," he said. "They are very important to ThunderClan."

"How?" I asked, blinking. "I'd think that they'd be dangerous."

"Because if an owl swoops in one direction, you know there's prey over there." He purred. "Our Clan has never gone hungry during leaf-bare when the owls are around."

"Leaf-bare?" I repeated.

"You know, when leaves gone from the trees and snow is on the ground."

"Oh…" He means winter. "What about the other three?"

"Leaf-fall is when the leaves fall from the trees and change color; newleaf is when new plants grow; and greenleaf is this season: when the air is hot and plants stay green."

I nodded. "Okay, I'll try to memorize it."

Brambleclaw rose to his paws. "Time to see the Thunderpath, Glacierpaw."

I decided not to question what the Thunderpath was in risk of annoying my mentor half to death. So I followed silently through the trees for quite a while, until the trees disappeared and we were facing a road.

"This is the Thunderpath," said Brambleclaw. "Monsters carry the Twolegs in their belly."

It took me a second to realize what he had just said.

Oh, he meant cars carried humans on the road…man, that is hilarious!

"Duck!"

"What?"

Brambleclaw pressed me to the ground with a huge paw – just as a car, or a monster, rolled past, spraying dirt into the bushes. The monster continued up the Thunderpath.

"That was a monster," explained Brambleclaw, sitting up again. "They're horrible, stinky things. Thunderpaths are dangerous, Glacierpaw, they have killed the strongest warriors with their monsters."

You mean roads and cars, I thought. A sudden image struck me. With intelligence of the human world on my side – imagine what I could do! I could make ThunderClan great. Then, no, I realized, I'd be acting like Tigerstar. I shivered. No way I would start to act like him.

I shot a look at Brambleclaw. And I was sitting right next to his son! I took a long look at Brambleclaw and tried to imagine the cat called Tigerstar in his place.

"Right," said Brambleclaw suddenly. "Across from the Thunderpath is ShadowClan territory. They smell just like the monsters."

I raised my head and breathed in the scent of ShadowClan – I recoiled in disgust. He was right, they smelled horrible!

"ShadowClan lives in a swamp," he explained.

"Are there just three Clans?" I asked. "ShadowClan and RiverClan?"

"There's WindClan, but it is above RiverClan territory, and is quite a ways away." He paused. "Remember, Glacierpaw, the main job of the Clan is to patrol the borders and protect it from the other Clans who might steal territory or prey." He rose to his paws. "Now you just have to see the Tallpines and Twolegplace, and then we're going back to camp."

I really didn't want to see Twolegplace – I might see my parents. Legs shaking slightly, I followed Brambleclaw further into the forest.

Twolegplace was almost directly behind ThunderClan camp, so we had to walk quite a ways. When we were there, it looked so much like my old home that I was tempted to walk right in there and say hi to everyone – not that there was anyone to say hi to, of course, I thought bitterly. But what were my parents doing right now? Most likely they'd called the police to search for me. But what if they hadn't? Had they even noticed that I'd disappeared?

"Time to go, Glacierpaw," said Brambleclaw suddenly. I snapped my head up. "You'll have training sessions every day from now on. Don't worry, you'll be a great warrior! But remember – all Clans live by the warrior code. Which consists of several rules – but the most important one is the fact that the Clan must be fed first."

"Okay, Brambleclaw," I said, purring. The two of us headed back to camp.

XXXXX

For the next couple of weeks, I learned so much about being a cat.

For one thing, cats don't 'say' or 'talk' – they 'mew' or 'meow.' I also learned more about cat expressions than just purring with laughter or amusement – ears flat against head or tail-lashing was anger, flicking a tail in a certain direction was pointing, and ears twitching could mean embarrassment. Yowling pitifully was sadness.

As for Brambleclaw's training, I learned so much from him. Like, I learned how to stalk prey. My first catch was a mouse. I wasn't even disgusted as I carried it back to camp – I'm still not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. Anyway, I caught thrushes, magpies, voles, and even a rabbit once I got good enough. Brambleclaw said I was a superb hunter.

My mentor taught me perfect fighting moves. At first I wasn't sure what these could be used for, and when I said so, Brambleclaw purred with amusement so much I thought he might have a heart attack. He told me that when he was an apprentice – I guess he'd have the name Bramblepaw – he had challenged BloodClan, a horrible Clan consisting of evil kittypets. Then again, Whitepaw and Shrewpaw had told me about BloodClan when we were on the subject of Tigerstar. So that had been a really dumb question.

Brambleclaw taught me how to climb trees, swim faster, run faster, leap higher. Squirrelpaw was the oldest apprentice in ThunderClan, and she had just been given an apprentice mission of hunting by herself while her mentor, Dustpelt, watched. I probably wouldn't be given a small mission like that anytime soon – I had barely been in training for two weeks.

More importantly, I learned about StarClan. I suppose that StarClan is sort of like what we think is God. Sort of. Whitepaw told me that the thick band of stars at night is called Silverpelt. Every star is a StarClan warrior. Weird, but interesting. So instead of saying God, I said StarClan from then on.

But there was one thing that the deputy of ThunderClan – Graystripe – said that made me a little unnerved.

One morning while I was eating fresh-kill – yes, I've gotten used to it, don't laugh – Graystripe padded over to me and selected a thrush from the pile.

"So, Glacierpaw," he mewed through bites, "how has your apprenticeship been going on?"

"Very well, thanks," I answered, feeling confused. Graystripe hardly ever spoke to me.

"Say, I heard this really strange word from an elder one time: human. Do you have any idea what a human is?"

I froze, and actually choked on the mouse I was eating. Graystripe looked at me in concern.

"You okay?"

"Fine," I gasped. I swallowed the bite and looked into his amber eyes. "Sorry, Graystripe. I don't know what that word – human, was it? – means."

"Ah, okay." I could see the same disappointment Firestar had had when he asked me if I had seen anything unusual. "Well, thanks, Glacierpaw. I'll ask Sandstorm if she knows what it means…"

But as Graystripe stalked away, I saw him not turn towards the warrior den, but into the nursery to check on the kits.

That was weird, I thought, giving my chest fur a couple of quick, thoughtful licks. How could he have heard the word human from a cat? Surely they can't understand Twoleg language?

Why do I keep lying? I wondered suddenly. I know perfectly well what a human is – a Twoleg, duh. What if my answer could help my Clan? I tried to imagine what would happen if I told Firestar that a human was a Twoleg. He might thank me – maybe. But what if he had more information than what I knew about? I won't tell until I know more, I thought. Besides, I added silently, settling on the ground, I would never tell dear _Firestar_ anything.

The next day, Graystripe organized the patrols. He told me that Whitepaw and I could go hunting together alone, we had earned it. So excitedly, the two of us left the camp to go on a hunting patrol by the Owl Tree.

"This is great," mewed Whitepaw as we padded quickly through the trees. "I can't believe we are finally given a hunting patrol by ourselves!"

"I know," I meowed, feeling very proud myself. "I thought I wouldn't get one of these forever!"

"Me too," she agreed, coming to a halt and facing the river ahead. "StarClan, I hate getting my fur wet!"

"Same here," I mewed. "But we've got to. Come on…"  
Hesitantly, I padded into the water, shivering at the cold that touched my fur. Whitepaw followed behind me. At last, we came to the Owl Tree. I could just see the black hole that Brambleclaw had shown me when he took me on a patrol around the territory.

"Right." Whitepaw paused and sniffed the air. "WindClan scent is strong," she murmured. "They haven't been hunting in our territory, have they? And as for prey…" She took another deep sniff. "Aha, there's a vole –" She froze in shock.

"What?" I demanded. "What is it?"

"An enemy warrior!" she hissed, fur bristling. She turned around and faced the bushes behind her. "Not from any Clan I recognize, though. A loner!" growled Whitepaw.

I bunched up my muscles, crouched into a battle position, and prepared for a fight.

But the cat that stumbled out of the bushes was not the lean ShadowClan or RiverClan warrior – this one was rather fat. It was a tom, and his fur was completely black, with a white dash on his chest. I was horrified to see that his pelt was matted in blood.

"I know you!" gasped Whitepaw, rushing to the cat's side. "You're Ravenpaw, aren't you? Firestar's friend?"

"An apprentiec?" I mewed, still skeptical. "Why was he banished?"

"He wasn't banished," panted Whitepaw, struggling to get Ravenpaw to sit up. "Ravenpaw, what happened?"

The black tom made a horrible gurgling sound, and croaked, "Rogues…"

"Rogues," repeated Whitepaw. "Right. Okay. Come on, Ravenpaw, we've got to get you to camp!"  
She hoisted the larger tom onto her shoulder and managed to get him to his feet. He stumbled awkwardly, but stayed on all fours.

Just then, I heard a horrible yowling – cats that I had never seen before blasted through the trees! There were at least five of them, and they were skinny, but lean and muscular.

"The rogues!" gasped Whitepaw. "Hurry up, people, run for it! We're no match for them yet!"

So we ran. And StarClan, did we run fast. We tore through the trees and bushes of ThunderClan territory, pausing for nothing. But as fast as we ran, the rogues were faster. At last, we reached camp, and shot right through the tunnel. Stupidly, the five rogues followed.

Whitepaw yowled on word to the Clan as she skidded to a halt, dropping Ravenpaw on the ground: "Rogues!"

Instantly, the Clan emerged from the dens, growling. These were not the cute little kitties that I had seen before. These were mean, powerful cats, that could chase of any intruder.

The rogues seemed to realize this. They bolted, without a fight.

"Ravenpaw!" gasped Firestar, recovering first. He dashed to his friend's side. "What happened? Are you all right?"  
Ravenpaw tried to answer, but he sank in a dead faint.

"Cinderpelt!" he called, his fur bristling slightly with worry. The gray she-cat came into the clearing, followed by her apprentice, Leafpaw, Squirrelpaw's sister and Firestar's daughter.

Cinderpelt bent over Ravenpaw and studied him closely. Then she mewed, "Leafpaw, go get me cobwebs for this. He needs them badly. Whoever attacked him ripped him into shreds!"

"It was rogues," explained Whitepaw. "They attacked the farm."

"What about Barley?" wondered Firestar. "What happened to him?"

A terrible silence answered his words. Firestar flicked his tail toward three of his warriors. "Mousefur, Thornclaw, Cloudtail, the three of you can check the farm. Don't go directly into it in case there are still rogues around. Go now."

Cloudtail mewed a hasty good-bye to Brightheart before joining the other two brown-pelted cats. I turned my attention back to Ravenpaw, but Dustpelt and Sandstorm had moved him into Cinderpelt's den. I looked nervously at Whitepaw.

"Will he be okay?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "But if Mousefur, Thornclaw, and Cloudtail come back at all, he probably won't be going back to the farm…maybe he'll stay here."

"But why isn't he living in ThunderClan in the first place?" I asked. "Is he even a ThunderClan cat?"

"Yes," answered Whitepaw. "But his old, old mentor – Tigerclaw – you know, Tigerstar – had accused him of being a traitor when he witnessed Tigerclaw murdering Redtail. So I guess he thought that the Clan wouldn't listen to him if Ravenpaw carried out what he saw – or that they would banish him because he was a traitor. Ravenpaw had always been terrified of his mentor, and eagerly accepted the idea of living on a farm with the cat called Barley."

"And Barley is a loner too."

"Yeah, that's right."

We padded over to the apprentices' den, where Squirrelpaw, Spiderpaw, and Shrewpaw were already sitting. Whitepaw and I curled up in our own nests.

"Weird day," commented Shrewpaw, his dark brown tail curled around his paws.

"Definitely," agreed Whitepaw. "And you know, Shrewpaw, we were there when we found Ravenpaw!" I could tell that she was tired of Shrewpaw's smugness and had decided to take advantage of the situation. So she and Shrewpaw locked into a conversation about what had happened when they had found Ravenpaw.

My eyes swiveled over to Spiderpaw, and I felt my stomach tighten with uncomfort. The long-legged black apprentice was staring out into space, watching the kits playfight. This is so weird, I thought. I have a crush on a cat. How could my life possibly get any weirder?

XXXXX

So…what do you think about the Glacierpaw x Spiderpaw pairing? How about Whitepaw x Shrewpaw, maybe? Lol. Anyway, I'll have the next chapter up soon, and about what happened to Barley, and what will happen to Ravenpaw, and…yeah.


	5. Chapter Five

Chapter Five

"Where are they?" wondered Whitepaw, sitting up, her fur bristling with worry. She looked at me. "Thornclaw, Cloudtail, and Mousefur should have been back by now."

I took my eyes off Spiderpaw and nodded thoughtfully. "You don't think the rogues got them?" I mewed.

"I hope not," mumbled Spiderpaw. He sounded so worried…so cute. Before I knew what I was doing, I padded over and pressed my side against his.

Whitepaw watched us for a few moments before exclaiming, "Look! There here!"

I leapt to my feet, nudging Spiderpaw with my head. It was true; the three warriors were pushing through the bushes, looking exhausted. But Thornclaw carried something that made my stomach clench with horror – it was a dead cat.

"No!" yowled Firestar, leaping from his den to examine the dead cat. It was a black and white tom that was ripped apart, literally. I could barely tell it was a cat. "It's Barley, isn't it?" gasped Firestar hoarsely.

Thornclaw bowed his head, dropping the cat on the ground. I had never met this cat before, but judging by the way the Clan was mourning so deeply over him, he must have been important.

Barley was buried late at night. Firestar, Graystripe, Sandstorm, Dustpelt, and some other cats sat beside his grave for the entire night. I was tempted to join them, to prove myself loyal, but Whitepaw had already padded into the apprentices' den. I walked up to her.

"Don't we join them?" I asked, flicking my tail toward the cats with Barley.

Whitepaw shook her head. "We never knew Barley all that well," she answered, and let out a yawn. "He would be so much happier with cats like Firestar."

"What about Ravenpaw?"

"He can sit vigil with Barley when he's better. If he's better," added Whitepaw grimly.

I didn't like the sound of that.

* * *

The next day, Cinderpelt reported that Ravenpaw was awake, and his wounds were healing well. The Clan still had not told him about Barley, and we were saving that until Ravenpaw was better. I couldn't help thinking that that was the last thing we could do, but I wasn't about to argue with the ways of my Clan. 

To add to that, my training sessions were getting much more interesting. Since most of the warriors were spending time patrolling the borders for the rogues, Mousefur, the most experienced warrior and mentor, was taking all the apprentices – except Leafpaw, of course – to the Sandy Hollow for training. It would be my first lesson ever with my friends – Whitepaw and Squirrelpaw and Shrewpaw and best of all Spiderpaw.

So about three days after Ravenpaw's incident, those training sessions started. The black tom was healing quickly, and we would be able to tell him about Barley soon.

Mousefur paced in front of us, her paws kicking up sand. "Your mentors have told me you are all doing quite well," she mewed. I felt as though I was in the army, and this was the guy screaming at me to stand up straighter. Only Spiderpaw stayed calm – he was her apprentice, after all. "Right now, I will teach you more on the hunting crouch and the stealth crouch – and individual hunting where I will be watching all five of you."

We exchanged excited glances. I had never been given a task like that before!

The hunting crouch was basically review about the stuff Brambleclaw had taught me. I stayed as close to Spiderpaw as I could, until I caught sight of Whitepaw watching me, and I moved away, embarrassed.

The stealth crouch was a little harder. We were sent into the bushes to see if Mousefur could pinpoint our location on our scent or the sounds we accidentally made.

Finally, Mousefur stood in front of us, explaining where we had to go for the individual hunting patrols.

"Now, I'll send you rather close together so I don't have to run around ThunderClan territory for days…" She let out an amused purr. "Spiderpaw, you can go to the area just behind Snakerocks, behind the Twoleg nest. Glacierpaw, you go to the Tallpines close by."

Close by! I thought with joy. Maybe Spiderpaw and I would run into each other.

"Squirrelpaw, you can hunt by the Snakerocks. Shrewpaw, in that direction over there." She flicked her tail. "And Whitepaw, to the Great Sycamore for you."

Tallpines, I thought. Right. I know where those are.

As the apprentices separated, I saw Mousefur slink off toward the Thunderpath, most likely to watch Whitepaw and the Great Sycamore. I padded quickly through the trees, sniffing for Spiderpaw, but I didn't scent him anywhere.

Quiet as a mouse, I crept through the Tallpines – it was very easy to go through this area of the forest. Sniffing a mouse, I instantly dove behind a tree. The mouse looked nervous and had pricked its ears at the sound of my dashing. Mouse-brained! I cursed. What if Mousefur had watched me?

Hastily, I launched forward, killing the mouse in my claws. I buried it hastily and continued looking for more.

I got the hang of hunting in the Tallpines by hunting in the bushes and tall grass only, and using the open space as an advantage. I was feeling very pleased with myself as I buried my tenth mouse, ears pricked for signs of Mousefur.

And then…

"RowwwRRR!"

An explosion of brown fur tackled me, bowling me over. Hissing and spitting, I leapt into the battle position and faced my attacker.

It was a dark brown she-cat – one that was terribly familiar.

"Hershey?" I gasped.

"Ahah!" she crowed. "I found you! No one enters my house!"

A kittypet challenges _me_? I thought, purring with amusement. I neatly dodged a blow that her large paw swept at me and tackled her with all my strength. I managed to pin her down beneath my paws.

"Why did you try and tell my housefolk that you were trapped as a cat?" hissed Hershey, struggling. I froze. She had heard that? Where had she been? "Why?"

"I…" My voice left me. I let out a ferocious howl filled with anger and bit Hershey's neck. The kittypet yowled in pain and turned to claw me, but I was too quick. I delivered several scratches to her flank before she was sent yowling into the bushes.

I stood there, fur fluffed out, feeling rage build inside me. How dare she! I felt horrified that she had heard me talk to Dad about that – but basically, she had challenged my loyalties as a ThunderClan cat. And no one does that.

And that was when my day got even worse.

I heard a small scuffling in the bushes, and I pricked my ears up.

"Who's there?" I snapped.

A black apprentice stumbled out of the bushes.

It was Spiderpaw.

* * *

"Spiderpaw?" I gasped. 

"I'm so sorry, Glacierpaw!" he exclaimed. "I was chasing a squirrel and I went too far into your sector. I didn't mean to spy on you…" He is so cute, I thought. I'm the one who should be sorry.

"It's all right," I mewed, nudging him. "What did you hear?"

"Well, I saw you fighting with a kittypet and I prepared to help, until I heard what the kittypet said to you." His voice shook. "You told a Twoleg that you were trapped as a cat? Or tried to? Glacierpaw, what –"

"Shhh!" I hissed. "I'm sorry, Spiderpaw, really. But I'll tell you when we get back to camp, okay? I don't want to risk Mousefur hearing. Now go back to the area behind Snakerocks."

Spiderpaw nodded in understanding in left me to my thoughts.

When I returned to the Sandy Hollow, Mousefur, Whitepaw, and Squirrelpaw were already there.

"About time," grumbled Squirrelpaw. "And you might as well have brought back a decent catch."

"Squirrelpaw!" snapped Mousefur indignantly. "As far as I can see, she did better than you!"

Squirrelpaw scowled and looked away, just as Shrewpaw and Spiderpaw returned, carrying prey.

"Time to go," announced Mousefur, rising to her paws. She too had caught a bit of prey while she was watching us. I couldn't help wondering if she had seen me hunting, or fighting Hershey.

We padded quickly back to camp. It was late in the day when we returned, and as soon as Firestar spotted us, he leapt up on the Highrock.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join me beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

Most of the cats were already there; our hunting patrol dropped our prey in the fresh-kill pile and walked over to where the rest of the Clan was.

"Since Ravenpaw has no place to go after rogues have taken over his farm and killed Barley," began Firestar, "he has agreed to be a warrior of ThunderClan."

Yowls of approval rang through the clearing. I was among them. ThunderClan was getting so many new warriors every day!

Firestar waited for silence. "Since Ravenpaw does not fully remember the ways of Clanlife, I will be his mentor for about two moons until he does." He purred with amusement and faced Ravenpaw, touching noses with him. The cats yowled more approval, chanting Ravenpaw's name.

I heard Firestar say to Ravenpaw that he could sleep in the warriors' den with Graystripe and Sandstorm, because he might not feel comfortable in the apprentices' den. For some reason I felt offended by this.

I padded quickly over to Spiderpaw, remembering what I had told him. "Let's go hunting together," I mewed. Spiderpaw seemed to understand and nodded. I could not ignore Whitepaw's watchful green eyes as she watched us leave the camp.

"Right," I meowed once we were far enough away. "Listen, Spiderpaw. When I tell you this, you have to promise me that you won't run and tell Firestar."

Spiderpaw looked at me with curious amber eyes. "I'm your friend, Glacierpaw, even though I don't know you that well. I promise I won't tell Firestar."

I dipped my head. "Thank you, Spiderpaw, thank you. Now…" I hesitated for a second longer. "I…I'm not a cat."

Spiderpaw stared. "What?"

"I'm a Twoleg," I confessed.

Spiderpaw leapt back in shock. "Great StarClan!" he breathed.

I sighed and nodded. "I know. Listen – I woke up in my house – I mean, Twoleg nest – having fallen asleep as a Twoleg – but woke as…this. A cat."

Spiderpaw stared at me.

"I managed to escape the house after their new kittypet – Hershey – chased me. She heard me trying to tell my father that I was trapped as a cat before she attacked me. I came to ThunderClan territory and have been here since."

Spiderpaw recovered himself. "Glacierpaw…" he mewed in sympathy.

"You need to know about Hershey – and Firestar," I added. "Firestar used to be our kittypet," I mewed, "which is why I think is because I was the one turned into a cat. Anyway, I did not want to go back to my house because my parents hated me, ignored me, ever since Firestar left. We called him Rusty."

This was so much for Spiderpaw to take in that he just stared at me for a few seconds before mewing, "This is really weird, Glacierpaw…"

"I know," I agreed.

"You think it's the will of StarClan?"

"StarClan?" I had never thought of that. "Well…maybe. I don't know."

Spiderpaw purred and pressed his nose against my flank. "I won't tell a single cat, Glacierpaw," he whispered.

I purred as well. "Thank you, Spiderpaw. Now, let's hunt."

* * *

The next day was an important one. Some of the cats in the Clan were going to the Gathering – a meeting between all four Clans that takes place in the Fourtress, which is four great oaks surrounding a clearing. I was quite sure that I would not be chosen to go – I had barely been in training for a moon. Squirrelpaw and Whitepaw were chosen of the apprentices to go, but before Whitepaw left, she padded up to my side, alone. 

"So," she mewed, her eyes sparkling with amusement, "you and Spiderpaw kind of like each other, eh?"

I choked on the magpie I was eating and faced her with a mouth full of feathers.

"Wa 'cho talkin' 'bout?" I mumbled.

Whitepaw rolled her eyes. "Don't pretend I don't notice, Glacierpaw," she meowed. "I've seen you with him. Always watching him."

I swallowed. "Jealous?"

I saw a true flame of anger in Whitepaw's eyes. "No!" she snapped. "I just think it's funny." She purred, her fur lying flat again.

"You could choose Shrewpaw," I suggested. "He's okay."

Whitepaw shrugged. "He gets annoying, but…"

"Whitepaw!" shouted Cloudtail, her father. "We're leaving!"

"Coming!" she called after him. With a final look at me, Whitepaw took off after the Clan.

I stood up, whiskers still twitching with amusement, and looked around the camp. Graystripe had been left here, as well as Mousefur, Dustpelt, Brackenfur, Thornclaw, Ashfur, Sorreltail, Sootfur, Spiderpaw, Shrewpaw, and me. We figured that would be enough to protect the Clan from rogues.

After I came back from a hunting task, I noticed that the Clan seemed to be crowded in a circle. Wondering what in StarClan was going on, I padded toward them and stood next to Spiderpaw.

"What's going on?" I mewed.

"Two new cats have been found," he answered. "They're kittypets."

"We are not!" snapped a ginger-colored she-cat that looked remarkably like Squirrelpaw. "Not anymore!"

The other cat had an unusual-colored pelt: gray and black and ginger around the head. At first I thought it was a calico, but there was absolutely no white on it. She looks like a dragon, I thought, a dragon breathing fire. She sat with her paws beneath her chest, calmly watching her friend, or sibling, or whatever shout at Spiderpaw.

"They're six moons," hissed Sorreltail. "We should ask Firestar if he'll take them in!"

"Yeah!" chimed in Mousefur. "Two cats have already been proven loyal: Firestar and Glacierpaw. Two more can't hurt!"

The Clan yowled their agreement.

"Okay," mewed Graystripe. "But we do nothing until Firestar returns."

More murmurs of agreement.

"Spiderpaw, Shrewpaw, Glacierpaw, can the three of you keep an eye on them?" added Graystripe as the Clan padded away.

"Sure, Graystripe," I mewed, dipping my head respectfully. He nodded and stalked off.

"We don't need cats to keep an eye on us!" snarled the ginger she-cat.

"Of course you don't," I mewed, my voice gentle. "I know that you're perfectly capable of looking after yourselves, but I have to obey my deputy."

The she-cat snorted and looked away.

Could they be Twolegs, like me? I wondered. Is it possible?

The cat that whose pelt I thought looked like a dragon padded over to me. "You'll have to forgive my sister," she mewed. "She's in a bad mood because I went with her to escape my housefolk."

"You two are sisters?"

The she-cat nodded. "Yes. We both lived happily, with our housefolk caring for us. But then Auburn – that's her name – wanted to be part of something bigger. She found her life tedious. So she told me that she was going to leave."  
"And you went with her," I guessed.

"I did," agreed the she-cat. "Auburn did not want me to go, of course. She said that it was much too dangerous. But I told her that she would not go anywhere without me." She let out a sigh. "To be honest, the idea did not appeal to me very much, either. I liked my comfortable life. But like I said, where Auburn goes, I go." She yawned. "I'm Aurora, by the way. Who're you?"

"Glacierpaw." I drew myself up proudly. "I used to be a loner, but then I found this Clan. I had no where to go."

"Glacierpaw? Interesting name." She purred. "Does this Clan take in outsiders often?"

"Not really," I answered, not wanting her to think bad about our Clan. It's not like our leader was a kittypet, I thought.

Aurora shrugged. "Well, I'm beginning to like this place already. The cats seem friendly enough."

"You'd be called Dragonpaw, I'd bet," I mused.

"Dragonpaw?" Aurora paused and looked at her markings. "Well, I suppose I would, wouldn't I?"

"Yeah," I mewed, purring with amusement.

Firestar came back about two hours later. He froze in shock at the sight of the two new cats in the Clan.

"Firestar, it's all right," mewed Graystripe. "They're kittypets, but they're willing to be warriors of ThunderClan."

Firestar narrowed his eyes. "We will be known as the Clan that brings in outsiders," he mewed. "Blackstar was not pleased to hear about Glacierpaw."

"No. But maybe they will see it makes us stronger."

Firestar nodded thoughtfully. "Who found them?"

"Ashfur and Sorreltail, out on a patrol."

Firestar leapt up on the Highrock and didn't bother summoning his Clan – most of them were already there anyway.

"Sorreltail and Ashfur found two kittypets wandering the forest today," he mewed. Firestar looked down at the two warriors. "Do you think they are fit?"

"They are young, and strong, for kittypets," answered Sorreltail.

Firestar nodded and flicked his tail. "Come up here."

Auburn and Aurora obidiently padded up to the Highrock where Firestar sat. The leader of ThunderClan leaned down and whispered something in Auburn's ear. Then he straightned up and announced, "From this moment on, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be known as Flamepaw."

Flamepaw looked smug about being given her warrior name. Now it was Aurora's turn.

"From this moment on, until she has earned her warrior name, this apprentice will be known as Dragonpaw," he yowled. I purred with amusement. I had been right!

"Both of you need mentors," he added. "Graystripe," he mewed, "you will mentor Dragonpaw."

Graystripe's tail flicked with pleasure as he walked up to touch noses with Dragonpaw.

"Sootfur," continued Firestar, "you have done well with the disappearance of Rainwhisker and with your sister's injury. You will mentor Flamepaw."

I couldn't help feeling sorry for Sootfur as he touched noses with his new apprentice. Flamepaw certainly seemed like a right handful to me!

I padded quickly over to Dragonpaw. "Congradulations!" I mewed. "Graystripe is a good mentor."

"Thanks, Glacierpaw," she mewed, her tail flicking in appriciation.

I purred, and the two of us headed over to the apprentices' den.

* * *

Okay, those two are the last new cats I will bring to the Clan. I promise. Really. They are really important for the coming events of the story.

Also, Flamepaw and Dragonpaw were requested by my best friends.

Anyway, review!


	6. Chapter Six

Hah! I'm back! I was going to update yesterday, but oh my freaking God, I had so much homework! Anyway, read!

* * *

Chapter Six

"So, what happened at this Gathering?" I asked Whitepaw as I settled in my nest. "I didn't really have time to ask."

The white she-cat let out a sigh. "RiverClan has brought in two rogues," she mewed. "They're warriors now: Hawkfrost and Mothwing."

"Well, that's good!" I exclaimed. "Now RiverClan's seeing that even outsiders can be good warriors."

"But Mothwing is Mudfur's apprentice," added Whitepaw. "And he's the medicine cat."

"So?" I snapped. "I see nothing wrong with that."

Whitepaw shrugged. "It's just bothering me."

I put my head on my paws and quickly fell asleep.

* * *

In the next moon, I learned so much about Flamepaw and Dragonpaw. Flamepaw was not as rude or as disobidient as I had thought. Like all apprentices, she was eager to learn, but learned very fast. I was surprised when she and Sootfur returned from patrol, her mentor's tail held high and a pleased expression on his face.

As for Dragonpaw…well, she's a very nice cat and reminds me of Leafpaw, but she is a bit of a klutz. She fell in the river on her first visit to the Owl Tree and had come back to camp cold and wet. She must have been a bit embarrassed about it, and even more surprising, Flamepaw did not make fun of her.

All in all, they were becoming incredible warriors. To be honest, I was kind of jealous. I liked being the newcomer in the Clan for a moon. But at least I had made friends with Dragonpaw. I wasn't so sure Flamepaw liked me.

Surprisingly, there had been no more attacks from the rogues and Graystripe's patrols thinned. Now I had my training sessions with my usual mentor, Brambleclaw, instead of Mousefur.

But the thing that I had most been looking forward to was the Gathering coming up. I had been training hard to make sure that Firestar would notice it, and maybe he'd choose me to go.

Dragonpaw, Whitepaw, and I returned from a hunting patrol, each of us carrying mouthfulls of prey. I held my tail and head high and prayed that Firestar was watching us as we placed our catch in the fresh-kill pile.

My tail shot up as he padded over. "Well done, all of you," he mewed. "Glacierpaw, you can come to this Gathering. I'm sorry, Dragonpaw, but not you," he added. "You have been in training for just a moon. Tell Flamepaw this as well."

She'll rip his ears off, I thought as Dragonpaw nodded and stalked away.

"Congradulations, Glacierpaw!" exclaimed Whitepaw, purring. "The Gathering's amazing. You're going to love it!"

"Thanks, Whitepaw," I mewed. "What about Spiderpaw and the others? Are they coming?"

"Probably not," she answered. "Firestar would have told us to tell them."

"Can we tell Shrewpaw? I can't wait to see his face!"

"No!" exclaimed Whitepaw. "That's rude. Shrewpaw's not that bad, Glacierpaw. Anyway, let's hunt for the Clan until we have to go. Which is in a couple of hours."

"Great!" I mewed, not exhausted at all. I ran after Whitepaw, outside the camp.

Our hunting patrol went very well. Once, both of us were stalking a crow – and didn't know that we had both scented it! So the stupid bird flew away just as both of us launched in the air to catch it. We hit each other in the stomachs and rolled down the hill, purring with laughter.

"That was brilliant!" exclaimed Whitepaw, her fur bristling with excitement. "I had no idea that was you!"

"You should have scented me, you stupid furball!" I teased, pouncing on Whitepaw, my claws sheathed. Squealing, the other cat knocked me onto the ground, pinning me down. But I was purring to hard to hear.

"We should get back," meowed Whitepaw, standing up and shaking dirt off her pelt. "Come on."

I collected the prey I had buried and headed back to camp with Whitepaw beside me. Firestar was just gathering up the cats to leave as we were arriving, so we dropped our catches in the fresh-kill pile and joined them.

We slipped quietly through the trees, murmuring excitedly to each other about what this moon's Gathering would bring. My fur was fluffed up with excitement. I couldn't believe it – I was going to see a Gathering!

A few minutes later, after we had crossed the river and passed the Owl Tree, we were staring down on a slope that lead down to four enormous oak trees. At least fifty cats were below, with three other cats on a rock in the center.

"That's the Great Rock," explained Whitepaw. "Look! There's Blackstar, leader of ShadowClan."

I peered closely at the rock and saw a huge white tom with black paws sitting on the rock, with a horrible expression on his face. I couldn't help but notice that he looked incredibly thin.

"He looks really smug and all," I mewed.

Whitepaw shrugged. "He's not the nicest cat around. And there's Leopardstar, of RiverClan, and Tallstar, leader of WindClan!"

"Hurry, apprentices," called Brackenfur as the rest of the Clan ran down to the Gathering. "This is a good time to meet your enemies. Learn how they move and behave."

"Yes, Brackenfur!" exclaimed Whitepaw, nodding to her mentor. The two of us tore down the slope toward the Gathering.

There were so many new cats with new smells that I thought I would collapse on the ground from the dizziness that came with it. Whitepaw and I moved toward a group of apprentices.

"Look!" exclaimed a gray tom, "isn't that the new apprentice of ThunderClan, Glacierpaw?"

"Yeah," mewed another before I could speak. "Her mentor's Brambleclaw, right?"

"Brambleclaw?" repeated the gray tom before I could say anything. "I would be careful if I were you. Stay away from him. Ask Firestar for a new mentor."

I hissed. "Brambleclaw's as loyal as you or me!" I snapped, mimicking what Whitepaw had said to Shrewpaw.

But the gray tom just shrugged. "Whatever. I'm Crowpaw, by the way, of WindClan. And this is Breezepaw, also of WindClan."

"Hi," he mewed, a brown tabby tom, "please excuse Crowpaw. He's never in a good mood."

"Hey!" protested Crowpaw indignantly.

"Well, it's true…"

"Come on," mewed Whitepaw. "You've got to see Mothwing."

"Mothwing?" I repeated as we stood up. "You mean, the RiverClan medicine cat apprentice?"

"Yeah."

Whitepaw lead me through the crowds toward where most of the RiverClan cats were. I spotted a golden tabby she-cat sitting alone, flicking her tail nervously. Whitepaw and I padded over to her.

"Oh, hello," mewed Mothwing. "And who are you?"

"We're ThunderClan apprentices," answered Whitepaw. "I'm Whitepaw, and this is Glacierpaw. Glacierpaw wanted to meet you."

"Er, hi," I meowed awkwardly.

"Oh, you're the new apprentice of ThunderClan!" exclaimed Mothwing. "I've heard so much about you. Congradulations on getting Brambleclaw for a mentor!"

I nodded, liking this cat already. "He's an excellent one."

Mothwing nodded, but I could see a flash of something else in her eyes – admiration. I blinked. What was between Brambleclaw and Mothwing?

"Shh!" hissed a ShadowClan elder. "The Gathering's about to start."

I looked up on the Great Rock. The four Clan leaders – Firestar, Tallstar, Leopardstar, and Blackstar, were sitting with their heads held high, gazing at the cats around them.

"I will go first," mewed Firestar, stepping forward. I could see that his tail was twitching nervously. "We found two kittypets in the forest that have agreed to train as ThunderClan apprentices."

Yowls of protest rang through the clearing. I saw humiliation written all over Firestar's face.

"They have earned the names of Flamepaw and Dragonpaw," he continued. "Their mentors are Sootfur and Graystripe."

There were no yowls of approval from the Clans. I wasn't surprised. Firestar stepped back, dipping his head in shame and embarrassment.

But now Blackstar stepped forward, swaggering. I narrowed my eyes as he spoke.

"I believe that ThunderClan has a missing cat?" he mewed.

Firestar looked up. "Rainwhisker?"

Blackstar nodded. "We found him. He's in our camp."  
"Rainwhisker!"

Sorreltail and Sootfur pushed through the crowd to reach Blackstar.

"Is he okay?"

"What happened to him?"

"He had been ripped to shreds," answered Blackstar. "We were not sure he was alive when we found him. He's not so much better now. But we will give him back to you…"

"Yes!" yowled Sorreltail.

"…under one condition."

ThunderClan cats exchanged nervous glances.

"Our Clan is starving," mewed Blackstar. "We will give you back your warrior after you have given us enough food to recover."

Yowls of outrage rang out not just from ThunderClan – but from WindClan and RiverClan as well.

"If you do not comply to our conditions," added Blackstar, "we will kill Rainwhisker."

ThunderClan, WindClan, and RiverClan growled with anger, unsheathing their claws and scraping them on the hard ground. ShadowClan stayed silent, listening to their leader.

Tallstar stepped forward, fur bristling and tail lashing. "It is unheard of!" the black and white tom snarled. "You can't use a warrior to make ThunderClan give you prey!"

"I will do anything for my Clan," was Blackstar's answer.

Tallstar snorted and stood next to Firestar. "I will help you attack ShadowClan, if you wish, Firestar," he mewed.

Firestar bowed his head. "Thank you for your offer, Tallstar, that is very kind. But this is ThunderClan's problem. I will not want your warriors to be hurt because of us."

Tallstar nodded and continued to glare at Blackstar.

"Look!" yowled a she-cat; the ShadowClan deputy, Russetfur, "clouds are covering the moon! StarClan is angry."

I looked up and saw that she was right. Smoky clouds were obscuring the moon, making it darker. Interesting, I thought, was that really a sign from StarClan?

The Clans murmured nervously to each other. Blackstar rose to his feet.

"This meeting is over," he mewed. "StarClan has told us so."

"I wonder why," snarled Leopardstar. She leapt down from the Highrock and padded over to her Clan.

Firestar jumped down, walking over to Graystripe, his tail twitching nervously. He said a few words to the Clan deputy before beckoning his Clan to follow him. ThunderClan raced quickly out of the Fourtress and toward the river.

"Well, that was…interesting," panted Whitepaw. "I can't believe Blackstar said that!"

"Nor can I," I agreed. "Poor Rainwhisker…he must feel terrible…"

"And Sorreltail and Sootfur too," added Whitepaw. "Their parents, Willowpelt and Whitestorm, are already dead. If they lose their brother…" She shivered.

I nodded in understanding.

As soon as we were back in the familiar ThunderClan camp, Firestar leaped up on the Highrock and didn't bother calling his Clan.

"Blackstar's demand to give him our prey will never be met," he yowled. The Clan mewed their agreement. "But the fact still stands about what we will do to ShadowClan – and for Rainwhisker."

"We attack!"

The voice had been Flamepaw's, leaping to her feet. Her mentor, Sootfur, didn't even bother telling her off. "Fight ShadowClan! It's the only way! We can free Rainwhisker! There are more of us than them!"

Dragonpaw, her sister, padded over to her and whispered something in her ear, willing her to be silent, but Flamepaw went ranting on.

"ShadowClan will never think that we'll attack them! They will never expect us. We should attack now! While they're least expecting us!"

Firestar listened calmly, but with his ears pricked with interest. Flamepaw stared up at her leader, a striking resemblance to him. Maybe Flamepaw is Firestar's daughter too. No, that's mouse-brained, I thought.

"Your words make sense, young Flamepaw," mewed Firestar. He nodded, raising his voice to the Clan. "We will attack ShadowClan."

Dragonpaw sent a worried glance at her smug-looking sister that I could not help but notice.

"Graystripe, Cloudtail, Thornclaw, Ashfur, Sorreltail, Sootfur, Mousefur, Dustpelt, and all the apprentices are coming," he continued. "And Brackenfur. And Brambleclaw. Sandstorm. Brightheart."

Firestar leapt down from the Highrock and yowled for his Clan to follow.

"I can't believe we're going!" I whispered to Whitepaw as we tore through the trees, on our way to ShadowClan.

"I know," mewed Whitepaw. "Our first battle! This is incredible!"

I purred, but it caught in my throat as we faced the Thunderpath. I had never crossed this horrible thing before.

Cloudtail, Sandstorm, Dustpelt, and Mousefur ran across it at the same time. All the apprentices – except Ravenpaw – waited nervously on the other side.

"You're not afraid of a Thunderpath, eh, Dragonpaw?" asked Flamepaw, her tail lashing defiantly, facing the Thunderpath.

Dragonpaw shivered. "Maybe I am," she mewed. "But as should you, Flamepaw – FLAMEPAW!"

The tricolor she-cat's voice rang to a horrified yowl as Flamepaw raced across the Thunderpath, just in front of a monster. I held my breath – but Flamepaw made it across safely. Dustpelt and Mousefur scolded her.

"The mouse-brained fool!" hissed Shrewpaw, his fur bristled out from worry. "I can't believe she did that!"

"I know," whispered Spiderpaw. "She's crazy."

"Hush, apprentices," mewed Thornclaw. "We're close to enemy territory."

The six of us fell silent and watched as Brackenfur, Brambleclaw, Ashfur, Sootfur, and Sorreltail crossed the Thunderpath. A few more warriors followed him, and finally, it was the apprentices' turn.

I dug my claws nervously into the ground, watching the monsters race across the Thunderpath. There was a parade of them. I waited until the coast was clear before racing as fast as I could across the Thunderpath.

The hard, black ground scraped at my paws and I ran. I almost ran into my mentor, Brambleclaw, before steadying myself and turning around to look at the others – but then Squirrelpaw actually did run into me, and then Whitepaw.

"Ouch!" hissed Squirrelpaw crossly. "Get off me, you great lump!"

"And what about me?" I snapped. "You ran into me first, Squirrelpaw!"

Whitepaw fell back off of Squirrelpaw, and scrabbled to get to her feet. Squirrelpaw slowly stood up.

"She-cats," muttered Shrewpaw.

"Toms," we retorted.

"Quiet!" snapped Graystripe.

The Clan padded on. I winced as the swampy, dirty water touched my paws, sinking slowly. It got worse the more we walked until we were up to our necks in the water. At last, the water became shallow – or the ground began to rise – and we were climbing up a small slope that lead into ShadowClan camp. The first cat we saw let out a surprised mew.

"ThunderClan!" he hissed, and stepped backward slowly, waiting for an instruction from his leader.

"Firestar!" snarled Blackstar, sitting in the center of the clearing next to his deputy, Russetfur. "You will never get your warrior back. Now I suggest you leave, if you want to be ripped to shreds."

Firestar growled. "I think not," he mewed, and flicked his tail at his Clan. "ThunderClan, attack!"

"Attack!" yowled Blackstar, and the ShadowClan warriors flung into battle with ThunderClan.

A small gray tom tackled me roughly, barreling me onto my side. I leapt to my feet, snarling. It was Smokepaw, a ShadowClan apprentice. I dropped into a battle crouch and tried to remember the fighting moves Brambleclaw had taught me.

I waited for Smokepaw to strike before I attacked. He leapt at me, claws out, teeth biting. I jumped back, landing in the water, put all my strength into my back legs, and leaped. I sailed through the air and landed on Smokepaw, clawing. The apprentice hissed frantically, in pain and fear. I gave him a warning bite and sent him yowling into the bushes.

I glanced around the clearing of tussling cats. Graystripe and Oakfur were fighting fiercely, while Ashfur tried to help him, but a ShadowClan warrior barreled him over. I saw Sorreltail and Sootfur fighting with three cats as they tried to enter the medicine cat's den to get Rainwhisker.

I need to help them, I thought. I raced across the clearing toward them, but another ShadowClan warrior tackled me. I hissed with anger and sprang at him, but he was fast. He leapt away from me, and jumped on me just as I was landing – clawing my back. I yowled in pain.

Then, suddenly, it was the tom that was yowling. A cat had pulled him off me! I looked gratefully into the amber eyes of Ravenpaw, and nodded my thanks.

"We have to get Rainwhisker!" I yowled.

Ravenpaw nodded. "Let's go."

We raced again toward the medicine cat's den, where Sorreltail and Sootfur were still fighting ferociously. I leapt forward and pulled Rowanclaw off Sorreltail, and gave her a sharp bite in the neck. Rowanclaw yowled in pain and raced into a den. Ravenpaw gave a tom another bite and he ran as well.

Cautiously, we entered the medicine cat's den, where Littlecloud, the ShadowClan medicine cat, was sitting beside another cat.

"Take him," he mewed. "I won't stop you. I know what my Clan is doing is wrong."

I looked down at Rainwhisker…and let out a shocked gasp. His entire face was scarred horribly, with long, deep scratches running down the mouth onto his neck and back. His ears were chipped, and his tail crooked slightly. If I had seen Brightheart after her accident, then this was what she probably would have looked like. Except, she had been hurt by dogs – this was definitely cats.

"Rainwhisker…" whispered Sorreltail, crouching next to him.

"Sorreltail…Sootfur…" he rasped. He was alive! I never would have guessed. "You…came."

Sootfur nodded vigorously. "Yes, Rainwhisker, we're here. We've come to get you out."

"How did you…know I was…here?"

The four of us glanced at each other nervously.

"Never mind that, Rainwhisker," mewed Ravenpaw gently. "Now…let's just get you out of here."

Rainwhisker struggled awkwardly to his feet. He could barely stand. I rushed forward and put my shoulder on his to steady him.

"Right," mewed Sorreltail. "Let's get him out of here."

We walked him slowly out of the den. Ravenpaw, Sorreltail, and Sootfur protected him fiercely from the ShadowClan warriors wanting to take Rainwhisker back, or kill him. When we reached the water, it became more difficult. Rainwhisker kept falling over and we could only keep him upright when Ravenpaw helped. At last, we reached the side of the Thunderpath. More ThunderClan warriors were rushing toward us, having noticed that we had freed Rainwhisker.

Mousefur grabbed Rainwhisker by the scruff of his neck and hauled him amazingly across the Thunderpath, with cats racing next to them.

I padded close to Mousefur and made sure that she could carry Rainwhisker okay after we were across. The brown she-cat did seem to be having trouble. Mousefur was panting heavily and was slowing down with each step. So I grabbed Rainwhisker's scruff with my teeth and helped her along. She sent me a grateful glance with her eyes and the two of us trudged on.

The Clan made it back to camp, exhausted by victorious. We hastily brought Rainwhisker into Cinderpelt's den where she would care for him with Leafpaw.

Firestar leapt upon the Highrock and yowled all the call for the cats to come to the Highrock below.

"Today, our Clan has shown incredible courage," he mewed. "Rainwhisker is back with us, and looks as though he will survive." Mews of appreciation rang through the Clan. "But there is a single ceremony to perform."

He flicked his tail at Ravenpaw, who stood up slowly, his fur bristling with excitement. The black tom sat next to Firestar.

"I, Firestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on this apprentice," yowled Firestar. "He has trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and I commend him to you as a warrior in his turn."

So this is a warrior ceremony, I thought, watching Firestar closely. Interesting. ThunderClan's leader looked at Ravenpaw.

"Ravenpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Ravenfur. StarClan honors your loyalty and your intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Firestar bent forward to touch noses with Ravenfur as the Clan chanted his new name.

"Ravenfur! Ravenfur!"

* * *

Okay, sort of boring…sort of…not a lot happened. But the next chapter will be better. They might be made warriors. 


	7. Chapter Seven

Chapter Seven

My name is Dragonpaw.

I padded lightly through the water, my paws barely touching the surface. The water rushed around me, and would have knocked me down. But I realized I was walking on water. I looked wildly around and saw that there were two cliffs on either side of me. I inhaled and discovered I knew this place: this was just above the falls. I was in WindClan territory!

I have to get home, I thought. How did I get here, anyway? I turned around…but another cat was sitting there, on a rock. I sniffed. It was a she-cat, a blue-gray one. She stood up and touched her nose to mine.

"Beware of your sister, Dragonpaw," she whispered. "Not all cats are in fear of the tiger."

I jerked my head back in shock.

"Wha…what?" I gasped. "What's wrong with Flamepaw? What's she going to do?"

"Beware," the blue-gray she-cat chanted. "Beware, Dragonpaw…beware…"

"Hey! Dragonpaw!"

A sudden poke in my side. I jerked away angrily, then my eyes snapped open. I stared into the amber eyes of my sister, Flamepaw, and leapt away from her when I remembered my dream.

"Ouch!" hissed Spiderpaw crossly as my feet hit his head. "Dragonpaw!"

"What's the matter with you?" purred Flamepaw, sitting down and licking her paw. "You scared I might bite you or something?"

"I…no," I mumbled. "Just a little dream."

Flamepaw shrugged. "Well, whatever. Hurry up. Training starts soon. You don't want to keep Graystripe waiting!" And she tore out of the den.

I sat down and began to wash my fur. It was about a moon after we had rescued Rainwhisker, and the gray tom had recovered well. He had apparently been attacked by rogues after he escaped the Twoleg nest, but couldn't make it farther than ShadowClan territory in his condition. But since then, Flamepaw had been acting…strangely. She hardly paid any attention to me anymore, and was so focused on her warrior training that I never got to see her a lot. Flamepaw had never stopped to make friends with Glacierpaw or Whitepaw, and that worried me.

But what the she-cat had just said to me about Flamepaw…it had me even more worried. Could the tiger she was talking about mean Tigerstar? Did that mean that Flamepaw would _behave_ like Tigerstar?

Well, she certainly had seemed interested in Tigerstar's story when I told it to her.

"Who's Tigerstar?" she had mewed.

I had been surprised. "Don't you know? He's the evil cat that used to be deputy in ThunderClan." I told her the story of Tigerstar.

Flamepaw had listened with great interest, her bright amber eyes not looking away from me until I had finished. Could she have been inspired by what Tigerstar had done?

No, I thought, giving my chest a defiant lick. Flamepaw would never do that. Or would she? I had to find out, I realized. I'd ask Graystripe if we could go with Flamepaw's training lesson. So I padded quickly outside, stretching in the bright sunlight. As I passed the nursery, Ferncloud's kits, Birchkit, Larchkit, and Hollykit, were playing outside. They were about four moons old and would be apprenticed very soon. There weren't a lot of mentors for them in ThunderClan because there were so many apprentices.

I walked over to the Graystripe, who was beside the fresh-kill pile. I swallowed nervously and mewed,

"Er, good morning, Graystripe!"

He swallowed. "'Morning, Dragonpaw," he yawned.

"I…I know that you're the mentor and all, but can we go with Sootfur and Flamepaw to the training hollow?"

Graystripe paused in his eating and looked at me with large green eyes. "Well, I suppose," he mewed. "You and Flamepaw haven't been spending a lot of time together, I've noticed. So, sure, Dragonpaw, because you're such a sweet little cat."

I purred. "Thank you, Graystripe!" I mewed, before bending down and selecting a thrush from the pile.

* * *

A few minutes later, Graystripe and I headed for the Sandy Hollow, where Sootfur and Flamepaw already were.

"Hey, Sootfur!" yowled Graystripe.

The gray tom looked up.

"Graystripe," he greeted, dipping his head to his deputy, "good to see you."

"Dragonpaw wanted to train with you and Flamepaw."

I couldn't help but wonder if that was an expression of disappointment on Flamepaw's face, but she didn't say anything.

It was a basic training lesson about crouches and fighting moves. Graystripe and Sootfur even let Flamepaw and I fight each other, but with our claws sheathed, of course. Flamepaw was incredibly strong. If we had been fighting like enemy warriors, she probably would have won. But I pretended not to care and flung myself at her once again. It turned into a playfight after that.

We came back from a patrol about three hours later, paw-sore. The season of leaf-fall was coming very soon, and the air was turning colder. After leaf-fall was the bitter leaf-bare, and the Clan had to prepare itself.

"Hey, Flamepaw," I mewed, walking over to her in the apprentices' den. "Want to go hunting or something?"

She looked away. "Sorry, Dragonpaw," she meowed. "Not now. I've got to go on a patrol with Brackenfur, Thornclaw, and Brambleclaw."

"Well, maybe I can come with you," I suggested.

"No, there are already enough," answered Flamepaw with a shrug. "Oh, there they are. Bye, Dragonpaw." She padded out of the cave order to the three toms.

I sat there, feeling lonlier than I ever had. What had happened to my sister, Flamepaw? She joined the Clan, that's what, I thought. Clanlife had changed her. Now…all she cared about was becoming a great warrior. She never even paid attention to me anymore!

I sighed and walked over to my friend, Glacierpaw. I sat down next to her and mewed,

"I'm worried about Flamepaw."

Glacierpaw looked up. "Yeah? What's wrong?"

"Well…when we were kittypets, Flamepaw always wanted to spend time with me and play and stuff, you know? But now that we're part of a Clan, she has…changed."

Glacierpaw blinked. "How so?"

"She never wants to do anything with me anymore. I had to ask Graystripe to train with Sootfur just to spend time with her. I think she barely even notices me!"

"Clanlife has changed her," mused Glacierpaw, saying exactly what I had been thinking.

"Yes," I agreed, putting my head on my paws. Should I tell her about what the blue-gray cat had told me? If StarClan had wanted me to tell someone, I thought, they would have said so. At least, I think it was StarClan.

"Just try to spend as much time with her as possible," suggested Glacierpaw. "Go find that patrol that Flamepaw left on and go with them. But if Flamepaw begins to think that you're spending too much time with her, back off for a while, okay?"

"All right, Glacierpaw," I mewed, standing up. "I'll try that."

I walked over to Graystripe and told him I was going to find the patrol that just left before exiting the camp, sniffing hard. They went this way, I thought. To the ShadowClan border. I padded quickly through the forest, until the trees disappeared and I was facing the Thunderpath. Four cats were sitting around the Great Sycamore, with one of them catching prey.

"Hey, guys," I mewed, stepping out of the bushes. Thornclaw looked up.

"Dragonpaw," he meowed, sounding surprised. "What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to come with your patrol," I answered. "I told Graystripe where I was going, don't worry!"

Brambleclaw nodded. "All right then."

"But we can patrol the ShadowClan border by ourselves," mumbled Flamepaw. "We don't need your help, sister."

I flinched. She hadn't meant to sound harsh, but her words were like claws.

"Flamepaw!" Brackenfur cuffed her on the back of the head. "She can come if she wants."

Flamepaw said nothing, but looked away.

The patrol went nicely, with no interruptions. ShadowClan was very peaceful, even after we had attacked their camp and taken back Rainwhisker. When we got back, I offered Flamepaw to sit with the elders and me and listen to their stories.

I heard a growl rise from Flamepaw's throat. "I don't want to listen to the elders' stupid stories!" she snarled, whipping around to face me and lashing her tail. "You can't just butt in on my life, Dragonpaw. I am going to be the greatest warrior this forest has ever seen!"

"I'm sure you will be," I mumbled. "But can't you be a good warrior and be close to your sister?"

"I won't be as good!" she snapped, and shot right past me, out of the tunnel.

"Flamepaw!" I called after her. "Flamepaw! Wait!"

I let out a sigh. In an attempt to get the two of us closer together like we used to I had made Flamepaw hate me, and run away. But she'd be back. I hoped.

Not wanting to meet the other apprentices' faces, I sulked over to the fresh-kill pile. Graystripe padded over to me.

"She'll be back," he sighed. "What were you two arguing about anyway?"

I told him everything.

"Ah." Graystripe nodded in understanding. "Well, like I said, don't worry, she'll be back. She just needs to get her head straight."

I nodded. "I'll have to apoligize," I mewed.

But my mentor shook his head. "No, I'll have a word with her," he meowed. "In the meantime, you should get some sleep. You've been training and patrolling all day. Go on, Dragonpaw."

"All right, then," I mewed, and slowly rose to my feet, padding over to the apprentices' den. Spiderpaw, Shrewpaw, and Squirrelpaw were already there.

"Hey, Dragonpaw," mewed Squirrelpaw. "Saw that fight that you and Flamepaw got into. Think it's just part of being a kittypet?"

"I'll bet," agreed Shrewpaw.

"Your father was a kittypet," I mewed to Squirrelpaw.

She shrugged. "He's not soft, like you guys."

"Oh, leave her alone," snapped Spiderpaw. "You're not helping her deal with Flamepaw's disappearance."

"She probably won't come back at all! Kittypets are not made to be warriors!"

"I'm not surprised! Hey, Dragonpaw, when are you going to leave?"

I felt unbelievable anger inside me.

"Want to leave right now, Dragonpaw? I wonder who'd miss you."

"Glacierpaw, probably. But she was a loner! She'll go with you, won't she?"

I leaped.

Sailed through the air, claws extended, ears flat, tail lashing.

Squirrelpaw squeaked as I landed on top of her.

I slashed with all my might. Squirrelpaw bit me but I whipped around, making her release her grip, and clawed at her flank. Suddenly, teeth grabbed me, pulling me off Squirrelpaw. It was Spiderpaw.

"Let me go!" I snarled. "Let me go!"

"Dragonpaw, what has gotten into you?" he demanded. "You're supposed to be the nice one!"

I stopped struggling. I sat on the ground, trembling.

"Sorry, Squirrelpaw," I whispered. "I…I didn't mean…"

"Oh, I'm sure you didn't, kittypet!" she snarled, and limped toward Cinderpelt's den.

"I really didn't mean to," I mumbled to Spiderpaw. "She just made me so mad…"

"I know," he agreed.

At that moment, Glacierpaw entered the den. Her fur bristled slightly at the sight of me.

"What happened?" she demanded.

"Dragonpaw made Flamepaw angry, and she ran away," answered Spiderpaw. As I stared into his eyes, I saw not only the fact that he liked Glacierpaw – as everyone knew – but something else – fear. Spiderpaw was afraid of Glacierpaw? "But then Squirrelpaw and Shrewpaw made fun of her kittypet origins, and Dragonpaw…attacked Squirrelpaw." He shivered. "She clawed her up pretty badly, so Squirrelpaw went to see Cinderpelt."

"Oh, Dragonpaw…" sighed Glacierpaw, "I'm so sorry…"

I shrugged. "It's fine." Glacierpaw curled up next to me. I fell asleep quickly.

* * *

Something prodded me in the side. My eyes snapped open. I stared into the huge blue eyes of Glacierpaw.

"Flamepaw's back," she whispered, and nudged me.

I rose slowly to my feet, and shook my gray, black, and ginger fur roughly. What a horrible day, I thought bitterly, and padded slowly outside.

Graystripe and Sootfur sat talking to my ginger-pelted sister, both of them looking furious. But Flamepaw looked nonchalant, like she didn't really care. I padded over to them.

"Flamepaw!" I exclaimed, nudging her. "I'm so glad you're back."

She growled and moved away from me. "Stay away from me, sister," snapped Flamepaw.

"Flamepaw!" barked Sootfur. "Your sister has been worried about you. Give her some slack."

Flamepaw said nothing, but whipped around, lashing her tail in my face, and headed over to the fresh-kill pile.

Graystripe sighed. "I don't know what to do with her, Dragonpaw."

"Nor do I," I agreed.

"She's becoming a real pain," he continued. "Maybe we should just leave her alone. Once she realizes that she only becomes a good warrior with friends, maybe she'll be better."

I nodded. "Good idea."

But as the weeks dragged by, and we did indeed leave Flamepaw alone, she didn't seem to notice us doing that. Instead, she took her warrior training even more seriously. I decided not to even bother with her. I gave up, I guess. Flamepaw didn't even like me anymore.

Glacierpaw kept trying to reason with her, but Flamepaw paid no attention. I could tell that she was resisting the urge to swipe a few claws over Glacierpaw's muzzle, but I guess she figured it might damage her chances of being made a warrior soon.

Sickness had been slowly spreading into the camp, and a few warriors had gotten ill. Shrewpaw was resting in Cinderpelt's den, as well as Thornclaw, and Ashfur. I knew that there were a few more than that, but not a lot of warriors were ready to admit that they were sick.

But on a cold leaf-fall day, something terrible happened.

I was eating a thrush by the fresh-kill pile, when suddenly, horrible-looking cats flooded through the tunnel, into the camp. They were very thin, and smelled terrible. But Firestar recognized them instantly.

"They're BloodClan!" he cried. "Scourge's kittypets!"

As if in answer, the cats launched into battle.

* * *

A large gray tom tackled me, bowling me over. I hissed angrily. I was a cat that had lost her sister to concentration on being a warrior, and not even Tigerstar's allies were going to defeat me. I yowled and raked my claws against his flank – then I leaped up, my teeth closing around his neck. The tom screeched in pain and ran into the bushes.

I glanced around the clearing. Glacierpaw was wrestling with a she-cat three times her size. Flamepaw was fighting with a tom, clawing at his eyes. Spiderpaw was running to help Glacierpaw. I saw Ravenfur attacking a brown she-cat, with the help of Graystripe, and Sandstorm and Dustpelt were fighting with two toms.

I rushed to help Rainwhisker. The gray tom had recovered well, but it seemed that his wounds were hurting him. I pulled the large black cat off of him and gave the tom a sharp bite in the neck. He yowled. Rainwhisker clawed at his nose and the black tom was sent running into the bushes.

"I am not in as good of shape as I thought I was," admitted Rainwhisker.

"I know," I mewed. "You need rest."

"No. I need to help my Clan."

Before I could stop him, Rainwhisker tore into the crowd of fighting cats. Unable to do anything else, I rushed to help Glacierpaw. The silver and white she-cat was badly injured from battling another she-cat. And it looked as though the rogue was going to finish Glacierpaw off. I leaped onto my friend's attacker's neck, listening to her yowl. The strong cat flung me off, making me land on my back in the dirt. But I wouldn't give up that easily!

I launched to my feet, and flung myself again at the she-cat. She had been preparing to kill Glacierpaw. I gave her a lethal bite to the throat and she collapsed – dead.

I stood frozen. I had never killed a cat before. But before I had time to react, a tom attacked me from the side! He bowled me over, and I felt terribly sharp claws tearing at me. But then, suddenly, he was gone, lost in the crowd of fighting cats. I looked up, and saw that Glacierpaw had pulled him off me. She was bleeding heavily, but could still fight.

I glanced around the clearing. The number of rogue cats were thinning quickly, and Firestar finished off the last one. With a final growl, they carried off their dead and left ThunderClan camp. It was a mess. Fur and blood were everywhere, and nearly every den had been torn apart.

I limped over to Glacierpaw, who was fighting to stay awake.

"Thanks," I gasped. "You really helped me back there."

She managed a shrug. "Yeah, well…" mumbled Glacierpaw, "you're kind of my friend, Dragonpaw…" And she sank into a dead faint.

* * *

Cloudtail, Brackenfur, and Glacierpaw suffered from deep wounds, but they made it through all right. The day after the battle was spent making repairs to the camp.

Glacierpaw, Flamepaw, and I worked on the apprentices' den. Even though her wounds were severe, Glacierpaw insisted on helping. And Flamepaw…well, I guess even she could have her good days and bad days.

We froze suddenly when Firestar came padding over to us.

"Well done, you three," he mewed.

"Thank you, Firestar," answered Glacierpaw.

"Are your claws sharp? Are your warrior skills ready?"

Flamepaw leapt to her feet. "Yes! Of course, Firestar!"

He purred. "I see no need to test you," he mewed. "Your warrior ceremony will be in about an hour." The leader of ThunderClan padded away.

I blinked, and turned slowly toward my friend and sister. "Warrior ceremony?" I gasped. "Does he mean…we're going to be made warriors?"

Glacierpaw let out an excited yowl and tackled me. "Of course, you stupid furball!" she mewed, purring with amusement. "We're going to be made warriors! I'll be Glacierfur or Glacierpelt or Glacier something –"

I raised my head high, wondering what my warrior name would be. Dragontail? Dragonfur? Dragonpelt?

We worked extra hard on the apprentices' den while we were waiting. In the last thirty minutes, we groomed ourselves so that we looked nice for our warrior ceremony. I can't wait to see the look on Squirrelpaw's face! I thought happily.

"Let all cats old enough to catch their own prey join me beneath the Highrock for a Clan meeting!"

It was Firestar's yowl! Glacierpaw, Flamepaw, and I glanced at each other excitedly, knowing what was coming up. We padded out of the apprentices' den, our fur sleeked down, and sat next to Spiderpaw, and Graystripe.

"Yesterday, all of you showed incredible courage," began Firestar. "BloodClan is apparently becoming strong again, and it was terrible luck that they attacked when they did, when we had three warriors sick –"

"They must have had help from the inside!" called Dappletail from the elders' den.

"Surely there can't be another cat like Darkstripe in the Clan," mewed Firestar, frowning.

"You never know," muttered Speckletail darkly.

"But three specific apprentices were one of the bravest," continued Firestar. He flicked his tail at the three of us. Slowly and nervously, we padded up to him. Firestar raised his head to StarClan and began the ritual.

"I, Firestar, leader of ThunderClan, call upon my warrior ancestors to look down on these three apprentices. They have trained hard to understand the ways of your noble code, and we commend them to you as warriors in their turn."

I looked down at the crowd, and saw Squirrelpaw's umistakable look of anger and disbelief and I couldn't help but twitch my whiskers with amusement. It was so perfect!

Firestar looked at the three of us. "Flamepaw, Glacierpaw, Dragonpaw, do you promise to uphold the warrior code and to protect and defend this Clan, even at the cost of your own life?"

"I do," mewed Flamepaw defiantly.

"I do," whispered Glacierpaw.

"I do," I mewed.

"Then by the powers of StarClan, I give you your warrior names: Flamepaw, from this moment on you will be known as Flamestorm. StarClan honors your loyalty and your intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Firestar rested his head on Flamestorm's, before turning to me.

"Dragonpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Dragonheart. StarClan honors your loyalty and your intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Dragonheart! I thought, my heart swelling with pride as Firestar rested his head on mine. I've been made a warrior!

"Glacierpaw, from this moment on you will be known as Glacierclaw," continued Firestar. StarClan honors your loyalty and your intelligence, and we welcome you as a full warrior of ThunderClan."

Glacierclaw was trembling so much that she could barely bend forward to allow Firestar to rest his head on hers. He let us come down from the Highrock as my Clan chanted our names.

"Flamestorm! Dragonheart! Glacierclaw!"

"Remember, you have to sit vigil for the night," mewed Firestar, padding over to us. "You cannot talk or sleep. Sit in the center of the camp."

We nodded silently and sat in the middle of the camp – my smug, rude, but strong sister Flamestorm, and my loyal, confident, powerful friend Glacierclaw. And me, of course. Dragonheart. Quiet, sensitive, friendly.

We sat there all night, the three of us. And I can tell you one thing: StarClan, it was a cold vigil.

* * *

When the sun finally rose the next morning, and cats stretched in the sunlight, Graystripe padded over to me, yawning.

"You can speak now," he mewed. "Your vigil is over."

Glacierclaw leapt to her feet. "Thank StarClan," she mewed. "That was freezing."

"You should have seen mine and Firestar's!" agreed Graystripe. "We were made warriors practically right in the middle of leaf-bare."

"Poor you," I mewed, standing up and stretching.

Glacierclaw yawned. "I'm going to see Spiderpaw," she announced, and headed over to the apprentices' den.

Flamestorm and I walked to the warriors' den. I purred.

"I guess we sleep here now," I mewed.

"I guess," agreed Flamestorm. Her tone was casual, but I could tell she was as excited as I was.

I curled up in my nest and fell asleep quickly.

I had no warning dreams about Flamestorm as I slept, but my doze was interrupted by a sharp poke in my side, and a cat calling my name.

"Dragonheart! Wake up!"

I blinked slowly, and looked into the eyes of Glacierclaw. She was worried.

"What's going on?" I mewed sleepily.

"It's Flamestorm! I can't find her anywhere!"

* * *

Haha, cliffy.

So…they were made warriors. Now it gets interesting. To be honest, Flamestorm and Dragonheart05 wanted me to make them apprentices for nine chapters, but I didn't have any more ideas for them.

Also, I know my penname is Glacierclaw, and that Glacierclaw in the story is in love with Spiderpaw…but that freaking does not mean that I like Spiderpaw! Okay? Is that clear, Flamestorm and Dragonheart05? Good. Anyway, review!


	8. Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

Dragonheart leapt to her feet. "What?" she gasped. "She's missing? Where did she go?"

"I scented her over to Twolegplace," I answered. "You don't think that it was she that told BloodClan we were weak?"

Dragonheart hesitated, a worried gleam in her eyes. "I don't know," she admitted. "My own sister…a traitor…"

I nodded in understanding. "I'm the only one who has noticed her disappearance," I mewed. "We could go find her, and see if that really is the case. Who knows? Maybe I'm mouse-brained and she's just off hunting a rabbit or something."

"Right." Dragonheart paused, thinking. "Let's bring Whitepaw along with us. She's almost a warrior, and she could use the adventure."

"Sure," I mewed, "and how about Spiderpaw too –" but Dragonheart had already taken off. I sighed inwardly. Ah well, I didn't want to waste time in finding Spiderpaw; Dragonheart was already coming toward me with Whitepaw.

"Remind me again why we suddenly want to take a patrol near Twolegplace?" mewed the white-pelted she-cat, confused.

"Time to go, Glacierclaw," meowed Dragonheart, ignoring Whitepaw.

We padded quickly, but casually out of camp, then turned instantly toward Twolegplace. Whitepaw panted close to us.

"Where are we going?"

"Flamestorm's missing," I mewed. "We brought you along for a bit of help."

"I'm honored. But why do you need help?"

I hesitated. "We have a theory that it was Flamestorm who told BloodClan that we were weak."

"Whoa!" Whitepaw let out a startled gasp and faced me with huge green eyes. "Flamestorm might be a traitor?"

"Well, the way she was acting…"

Whitepaw said nothing more on the subject as we sped toward Twolegplace. At last, we reached the white Twoleg fence and came to a quick halt. Dragonheart peered closely around, sniffing intently.

"I smell lots of stuff," she mewed. "Lots of cats." She looked at me, worried.

"Could just be a few kittypets," I suggested.

But Dragonheart shook her head. "No. These are weak, starving, sick cats. Definitely not kittypets." She sighed. "BloodClan."

"What about Flamestorm?" asked Whitepaw.

"I think I smell her a little bit, but…there are so many cats it's hard to tell."

"Where does the trail lead?" I mewed.

"Up this way."

Dragonheart padded around the first Twoleg nest and into the grassy area behind it. The scent of many cats became stronger. My fur started to bristle with alarm.

"Okay," I mewed, "maybe we should go back to camp, you know, get a few warriors –"

It started with a sudden yowl. Then cats – skinny, but muscular cats – erupted out of the grass, hissing, snarling, clawing. There were so many! I leapt back in surprise, and unsheathed my claws. Was this BloodClan? I wondered. It had to be.

It took me a second to realize that a large group of the BloodClan cats had circled around me. They closed in on me suddenly, grabbing me hard by their teeth. I snarled and tried to escape, but they were so much bigger than I was.

And where were Dragonheart and Whitepaw? Had they gotten away? Or was BloodClan bringing them, too?

BloodClan dragged me roughly through the grass, far away from ThunderClan camp. I had never been in this part of the forest before. At last, we once again entered a tussle of trees, and BloodClan dropped me on the ground in the center, and the former kittypets formed a circle around me.

I looked around wildly for Dragonheart or Whitepaw, but I didn't see them anywhere.

"Don't bother looking," mewed a voice. A horribly familiar voice. "We let them go back to your pitiful Clan."

The BloodClan cats parted slightly to allow a gap in the circle. A single cat stalked through, her tail swishing defiantly and triumphantly.

I knew this cat. It was Flamestorm.

I swallowed hard. I had to act like I wasn't impressed. "Stupid of you to let Whitepaw and Dragonheart go back to ThunderClan camp," I mewed. "They'll come back with lots of warriors."

Flamestorm shrugged. "BloodClan is many. We can take on a pathetic Clan like yours."

"And you're leader?"

The ginger-pelted she-cat raised her head proudly. "I am indeed leader of BloodClan," she answered.

I snorted and looked around the cats. "Do you know how old this cat is?" I mewed. "She's barely a warrior! Her warrior ceremony was yesterday!"

One of the cats shrugged. "She teaches us," he mewed.

"What?"

"I teach them the ways of Clanlife," explained Flamestorm. She was circling me now. I shivered. "BloodClan is not an organized Clan. There are no mentors. Everyone is a warrior. Elders and the sick are left to fend for themselves." She purred in amusement. "But I am teaching them the ways of Clanlife. I teach them about mentors, hunting patrols, everything. In exchange for power."

"Power," I repeated. "I can't believe you, Flamestorm. You're acting like Tigerstar."

The BloodClan cats murmured nervously to each other at the mention of this cat's name.

"Tigerstar had the right idea," answered Flamestorm. "He wanted power over all four Clans. And that is what I will have soon. Now." She began to circle me at an even faster pace. "You will die today, Glacierclaw."

"Why me?" I mewed, trying not to show my fear. "Why not Dragonheart?"

Flamestorm hissed at her sister's name. "Dragonheart is a fool," she whispered. "A different-Clan-sympathizer. A peacemaker. But you, Glacierclaw, was the cat that tried to reason with me the most. You were the one, Glacierclaw. You thought you could be my friend." She yowled with laughter. The other cats joined in.

_Slash!_

Flamestorm raked her claws forward. They scratched my nose. Droplets of blood ran into my mouth. I hissed in pain.

Flamestorm dropped suddenly into a battle crouch. "Time to die, Glacierclaw," she whispered.

I copied her crouch. If I was going to die, it was better to die like a warrior.

She leapt!

I flung myself into the air, claws raking her side. But Flamestorm was quicker than I was. The wounds that the cats had given me when they had dragged me here were affecting me. I hissed sharply when Flamestorm's claws raked into my back, and her teeth chomped on my hind leg. I yowled.

"That the best you can do, loner?" she hissed. Flamestorm struck again. Her claws chipped my ear. I gasped.

I leapt back, then pounced. I sailed above Flamestorm, and landed on her, sinking my claws and teeth into her sides. She wriggled hard, slashing me, and managed to break free of my grip. She launched at me once again, and her jaws met my throat.

I let out a startled gasp of pain and surprise.

My body slowly hit the ground. Flamestorm let go of me. I could hear her saying something, but I couldn't understand.

And then I felt the last breath leave my body.

* * *

"Glacierclaw!" I yowled out loud. Whitepaw tackled me to get me to shut up. I scrambled to my feet and peeked out the small hole of grass.

Flamestorm, my sister, was standing over the dead body of my best friend, Glacierclaw.

I felt unbelievable hatred burn inside me. How could she? My own sister! Flamestorm had killed Glacierclaw!

"No," I whispered, "no…"

"Dragonheart, shut up!" hissed Whitepaw. "You're going to get us killed!"

"Glacierclaw!" I moaned. "She's dead."

"Yes, and so will we if you don't be quiet!"

"I can't watch anymore," I gasped, turning away. "I'm going back to camp for reinforcements."

"Wait!" Whitepaw grabbed me and pulled me toward the small hole.

"Throw her body into the bushes," Flamestorm was saying. "We'll do something about her later. For now, we have to plan the attack on my old Clan, ThunderClan…"

A few BloodClan cats picked up Glacierclaw's body and tossed her carelessly into some shrubbery. I growled under my breath. Flamestorm would pay. Oh, yes, she would pay.

"Okay, now we leave," whispered Whitepaw, and she shoved me away. We walked clumsily back into the forest, then broke into a run toward ThunderClan camp.

My mind was spinning with what I had just witnessed. Flamestorm killed Glacierclaw…Flamestorm took control of BloodClan…Promised them an organized Clan…the mouse-brained fool. Once BloodClan understood, they would kill her.

We tore quickly into camp. The Clan cats let out shocked yowls at how quickly we were going. The two of us bolted toward Firestar's den.

"Firestar!" I mewed. "We've got to talk! This is important!"

The ginger-coated tom looked up in surprise. "Dragonheart, Whitepaw. What is going on?"

"Flamestorm is a traitor!" I gasped. "She told BloodClan that we were weak! She's in charge of BloodClan! And she's planning to attack!"

Firestar leapt to his feet. "When?"

"We don't know."

He hesitated, considering. Then, "Where is Glacierclaw?"

Whitepaw and I glanced at each other.

"We'll tell you what happened to her later," I answered.

"Can we beat them by ourselves?" he asked.

"Yes," I answered, surprising myself. "They were weak and starving. There had to be less of them than last time."

And with that, Firestar ran out of his den and leapt upon the Highrock. He did not bother calling his Clan because they had gathered there anyway, signaled by us.

"Dragonheart and Whitepaw have brought back startling news," he mewed, and hastily told them about what we had told him.

"How do they know this?" demanded Dustpelt.

"We were tracking a scent trail," I called out. "It led to the back."

"Why would BloodClan listen to Flamestorm?"

"Where is Glacierclaw?"

One by one, we answered the questions, except the last one, of course. Firestar then rounded up most of his warriors and apprentices for this battle. And with that, ThunderClan headed for the battle grounds behind Twolegplace.

I raced beside Whitepaw and Squirrelpaw, the blood pounding in my ears. This would be incredible, I thought. Challenging BloodClan. We were out of the forest. I winced at the openness, with no trees, but still pressed on, through the forest. I was getting tired already, but it was probably just because I was so scared.

"It's this way, Firestar," I panted, and flicked my tail toward the clearing to the right. "BloodClan will be there."

Firestar nodded but said nothing. ThunderClan raced through the grass, and froze suddenly in the clearing. My blood ran cold when I saw BloodClan facing us. I was satisfied to see that they looked dumbfounded and confused.

"Flamestorm!" shouted Firestar. "What are you doing? You belong in ThunderClan!"

Flamestorm let out an impatient hiss. "Not anymore, I don't, Firestar," she mewed. "My new life is with BloodClan. Here, I can have so much more power. It's great."

Firestar sighed, shaking his head. "Flamestorm, you have heard of Tigerstar? He failed. As will you."

"I doubt it," replied my sister, and nodded to the rogue cats behind her. "BloodClan, attack!"

Firestar yowled the signal as well, and the two Clans leapt into battle.

A ginger tom barreled into me. I hissed with anger and surprise and sank my teeth into his leg, disgusted at the matted fur. The tom yowled and clawed at me, but I leapt away and aimed for his throat – killing him.

I looked wildly around the clearing of tusseling cats. I didn't care about them; I wanted Flamestorm.

I found her watching the battle calmly on the side of the crowd. I ran toward her and tackled her viciously. She hissed, tumbling onto her side and getting up quickly.

"You wouldn't kill me!" she hissed. "You couldn't kill your own sister!"

I lashed out my claws and raked her face. "You are not the sister I once knew," I whispered. "You killed Glacierclaw!"

Flamestorm flinched with surprise and rammed me over, sinking her claws into my shoulder. She held me to the ground.

"You saw that, did you?" she hissed. "Well, Glacierclaw deserved to die. She was a horrible warrior."

"She was _not!_" I cried, leaping away from my sister's grip. I let out a yowl filled with anger and sadness and leapt at Flamestorm.

But just as I was preparing to deal out scratches and bites, I realized that there were at least twenty Twolegs swarming into the area. Even worse, no one noticed it, being busy fighting. I froze in shock and wondered what in StarClan's name was going on.

* * *

Yeah…so…I died…

Right. The next chapter is the last one. I know, I really have a thing for the number nine, but seriously, I cannot think of anything else to write. I didn't even realize that this was all I had planned out. Anyway, the next chapter will be up VERY soon. Maybe even tonight.

Review!


	9. Chapter Nine

Chapter Nine

I opened my eyes.

The darkness was total. Complete. There was no light, nothing. I twitched my fingers. Claws.

Wait a minute…

I looked down at my body and let out a surprised yell – I was human. And yet I was a cat. What in StarClan's name…?

My ears were on the sides of my head, and yet they were pointed, and on the top. I had a tail, and still I didn't. My knees were bent, and yet they weren't.

It was the scariest thing I had experienced since first being transformed into a cat. I looked up and gasped. I was surrounded by about a dozen cats. The first cat – a she-cat, by the size and smell of it – stepped out of the crowd. She was a blue-gray one with a battle-scarred muzzle.

"Hello, Glacierclaw, Cathan," she mewed. I leapt back in surprise. She knew what I was! What I had been!

And wasn't this the cat from my dream as a human?

"Glacierclaw, we are giving you a choice, Cathan," began the cat. "StarClan is giving you a choice."

"Yeah?" I mewed, or said, or whatever, trying to act tough. "Like what?"

"Do you wish to be human? Or a cat?"

I stared at her. What a horrible decision! I can't believe that StarClan had left me with this.

"We need your answer soon, Cathan," added the blue-gray she-cat.

"Who are you?" I snapped. "I don't remember you from ThunderClan, or at the Gathering."

"I am Bluestar, the old leader of ThunderClan."

"Really?" I said, amazed. I looked around the darkness. "And where am I?"

Bluestar shrugged. "You are dead, Glacierclaw," she mewed. "You can be anywhere."

Well, that was a nice answer.

"I need your response," prodded Bluestar.

I sighed and began to think. As a human, what was there? Parents that barely noticed me? Had me work like a dog, doing every chore in the house? But as a cat, I felt so free. I had the eyes of an eagle, the claws of a predator, the quickness of a cheetah. It was awesome. Even better, I had friends. Whitepaw. Dragonheart. Especially Spiderpaw, I thought, a smile creeping up on my face. Especially Spiderpaw.

"I've decided," I said, looking up, "that I want to be a cat."

Bluestar nodded. "As I thought you would," she mewed.

FLASH!

Blinding light! I put my arms in front of my face to block it out. I suddenly found myself standing in a grassy field close to where Flamestorm had killed me. Even worse, the arms covering my face were human.

"Hey!" I shouted to the sky. "StarClan, I chose to be a cat, not a human."

"Save your Clan, Glacierclaw," echoed Bluestar's voice in my mind. "Then we will give you what you wish."

"I get it," I whispered. "I have to be human in order to save ThunderClan, eh?"

There was no response. I walked hastily forward, then broke into a run.

Right, I thought. What was I supposed to do to save them? Could I break into someone's house and steal their gun? No, that would be stupid; even if I managed to steal a gun, there was always a chance that I would hit someone from my own Clan.

As I ran across the Thunderpath, I realized that I was running so much faster than I would have originally as a human. I was clumsy, sure, from not having two legs in so long, but my legs seemed incredibly powerful.

It's the cat, I thought. The cat in me. StarClan let me keep my cat abilities for the time being. If I could run fast, like this, what else could I do?

A sudden idea came to me. I ran as fast as I could into town, tripping over my own feet. I had to hurry! The two Clans could have killed each other by now. I froze, panting, sweating, in front of a payphone. I ran forward, preparing to dial a number, when I remembered that I didn't have any money. I swore angrily and banged my head against the side of the payphone.

You idiot, use the cat! I thought wildly. The cat eyes. I looked up and searched furiously around the little sidewalk that I was standing on. There! (a/n: I don't know what kind of money they have in England, work with me here- - ;) I stuffed it into the money slot.

Hastily, I dialed the animal control number. I remembered it so well. Mom had made me call them when a rat had gotten in the house. Strange that I should remember it, though.

"Hello?"

I gripped the phone tightly, breathing hard.

"I…hi," I panted. "I'm on (a/n: Sigh…since I don't have the Warriors books here I don't know the Twoleg name of the street…again, work with me…), and there is a huge crowd of fighting cats in the fields. There are so many of them! I'm afraid they might really hurt each other."

"Right. Okay. Animal control will be there very soon."

"Hurry," I added, "thank you."

They hung up. As did I.

All there was to do now was wait.

For the first time, I looked down at my clothes. Surprisingly, they were in perfect shape, and for some reason weren't even the pajamas I had worn to bed the night I had turned into Glacierclaw. I was wearing a simple pair of shorts and a t-shirt, with running shoes. Obviously StarClan had wanted me to get here incredibly fast, and if I was barefoot and wearing pajamas, it would have been difficult.

"Thank you," I whispered. It was incredible was StarClan could do. When I first came to the Clan, I was skeptical about StarClan, but now…it was so amazing.

I looked up suddenly when I spotted a large white van with 'animal control' labeled on it hurtling up the road. It stopped when it came to me. A window rolled down.

"Are you the one that called?" asked a guy.

"Yes," I answered.

"What's your name, girlie?"

"I…" Think, Glacierclaw, think! It couldn't be my old human name; people were searching for me, no doubt. "Brianna Crawford," I stammered, saying the first name that came to mind.

"All right, Brianna," said the guy, "mind telling us where these cats are?"

"Over there," I shouted, pointing. "And please, please hurry!"

The driver gave me a skeptical look. "Is one of those cats yours?"

"No," I said, "but I'm just so afraid that those cats will really hurt each other, you know?"

The guy nodded and yelled something to the people in the back of the van. Instantly, at least twenty of them came out, carrying tranquilizers. I swallowed nervously. Oh, man. Oh man…

I ran after them.

"Hey, Brianna, you'd better go back," said the guy.

I shook my head. "Sorry. I'd like to come with you, and stay with them when you take them to the…er…wherever you take them."

The guy glanced at his partner, then shrugged.

We moved quickly forward, and into a clearing. I was relieved to see that the cats were still fighting ferociously. I breathed in the scent of my Clan and couldn't tell if there were any missing. The guys aimed their tranquilizers and fired at each of the cats. More of them entered the clearing and shot at them from inside.

I looked away, unable to look at what was happening to my Clan.

All of the cats were rounded up into the back of the van. They would stay asleep for several hours. I rode in the front of the van, all the way to the building where they kept all the animals. Inside, it was quite depressing. Barking dogs were inside the hundreds of cages in the building, and cats were separated from one another in tiny compartments. Each of the forest cats were put in their own little compartment by themselves.

"Can I stay with them for a while?" I asked. "Make sure they're okay?"

Again, the guys glanced at each other, then shrugged. "All right, sure." They didn't really care. I was just a kid concerned for animals. They left inside another room.

I sighed. They had taken the keys with them. I searched quickly along the shelves, scanning for Firestar. The cats were just starting to wake up after being put in the compartments. There! I found the large ginger tom barely awake. I put my fingers on his cage and mewed,

"Don't worry, Firestar. I'm going to get you out of there."

He leapt back in surprise, his eyes very wide. I smiled.

"It's me, Glacierclaw," I hissed.

"Glacierclaw?" he repeated. "How…? What is…?"

"I'll tell you later. Now…" I looked down at my hand. At my fingernails. They were slowly becoming pointed, curving around, becoming a cat's claw. "I have to get you out of this place."

I stuck my claw into the lock and turned it. The door clicked open.

"It's best if you stay in here, with the door open, until I can let the others out," I suggested. "I'll give the call, don't worry."

Firestar nodded, though his fur was still bristling.

I went to each of the cages and unlocked them, one by one. I stopped when I came to Spiderpaw's.

"Spiderpaw, hello," I whispered.

"Glacierclaw," he mewed, greeting me. "This has got to be the weirdest thing that has ever happened."

I laughed quietly and nodded. "You said it." I slowly unlocked his door with my claw.

"I didn't really believe you when you told me you were a Twoleg," mewed Spiderpaw. "Sorry. I guess I have to believe you now."

I smiled and scratched his ears. "I guess you have to."

I unlocked all of the locks, one at a time. But just as I was finishing up Sootfur's lock, the door to the room the guys were in opened, and they stepped out.

"All right, girlie," said the first guy. "I guess it's time for you to go home."

I glanced casually around the hall. All of the cages looked as though they were locked. None of the doors were hanging open. I looked back at the guys. How was I going to get past them?

I felt my claws unsheathe. No! I couldn't fight them, couldn't hurt them. But could I just knock them unconscious?

I felt adrenaline rush through me. Oh, yes, I could.

I leapt through the air. Ten feet! It was incredible. The guys let out yells of surprise and amazement. I kicked them in the heads with my foot, and as tall as they were, my foot met its mark. They slumped unconscious.

"Oh, yeah," I whispered. "I am so Catwoman."

I ran to the other door and yowled out, "Now!"

ThunderClan pushed the doors open and sprang into the floor. I picked up Spiderpaw as he rushed past me and hurtled out the door. And as I ran, I felt myself shrink. Shrink, to cat size. Yes! I felt unbelievable joy course through me. I was Glacierclaw again!

And I left the BloodClan cats where they were. Maybe, some how, they would become good, decent house cats. Maybe.

My Clan made it back to camp. We were exhausted little kitties, but Firestar and Graystripe stepped forward.

"Glacierclaw, I think we need to know a bit more about you," began Firestar. "And the entire Clan needs to hear."

I nodded nervously and leapt upon the Highrock with Firestar. I had not stood here since my warrior ceremony.

"Okay," I mewed. "You want to know what a human is?" I asked them. "It's a Twoleg."

Graystripe nodded. "And that was you, back there. The real you."

"Yes." I nodded slowly.

"Why didn't you tell us this earlier?" demanded Firestar, glaring at me.

I did not back down. "Because, _Rusty_," I answered, anger filling my voice, "I am your old Twoleg owner, which is the reason I was chosen to turn into a cat. You made my parents go berserk on me. They didn't even notice me anymore, since you left." I glared at him now. "I had a grudge against you."

Firestar looked stunned and hurt. "I…I had no idea…"

"Of course you didn't," I mewed reluctantly. "I forgive you, Firestar."

Firestar said nothing, but looked at his paws.

"Anyway, during a hunting mission as an apprentice, our new cat – Hershey – found me in the woods and planned to rip me to shreds. She also asked me why I had told my dad – after I had been turned into a cat – that I was, well, a cat. And that was when Spiderpaw appeared."

"Spiderpaw knew?" demanded Graystripe.

"He was keeping a secret for me," I mewed. "He was being a friend."

Firestar and Graystripe glanced at each other, but said nothing.

"And now, I think that I need some answers," I added.

Firestar nodded. "Cinderpelt told me two days before you came here about a prophecy from StarClan that said, 'The human warrior comes to the Clan soon.'"

I nodded thoughtfully. "That explains Graystripe's questioning."

"But there was another prophecy after that," added Firestar. "One that said: 'The silver and white cat will enter ThunderClan. She is destined to join the Clan, and will lead it through times of trouble. But beware of the secret she holds.' I'm guessing the last warning was about the large Twoleg nest we were put inside. If we had not made it out safely…" He shuddered.

"So Glacierclaw is a Twoleg?" demanded Speckletail.

I nodded.

"She cannot stay! It is against the laws of the forest!"

"Glacierclaw has proved herself a loyal warrior," mewed Firestar. He paused. "By the way, what happened to Flamestorm?"

Flamestorm. I shuddered. The cat that had killed me. I would have to tell them about that, as well…

"It was I," called out a cat. I glanced at the crowd. Dragonheart! "I killed her."  
A terrible silence. I stared at her in shock. Dragonheart had killed her own sister?

"I killed her just after the Twolegs came," she mewed. "She was distracted…" Whitepaw nudged her comfortingly. "But she had killed Glacierclaw!"

Whitepaw nodded. "Yeah. I'd like to know why Glacierclaw is still alive."

"What?" demanded Firestar. "Flamestorm killed Glacierclaw? But you're standing next to me." He stared at me as though I might just be a hologram.

"True," I mewed. "Flamestorm did kill me. But when I died, I…I saw StarClan." I decided not to give away much of StarClan's secrets. "They gave me a choice between being human, or being a cat." I looked up at the sky. "I chose to be a cat. And that was when I appeared on the field, a human. Apparently StarClan knew that I could only save the Clan in that form. And so I did." I decided not to tell the Clan about the complicated parts like a telephone. That would confuse them.

"Incredible," whispered Ravenfur.

"Impossible," snapped Dustpelt. "It can't happen. She's lying."

I shrugged. "Believe what you will."

After that, life in ThunderClan was incredibly peaceful. No one even questioned me about my Twoleg heritage. Everything was perfect…

* * *

--FIVE MOONS LATER---

SPIDERPELT'S POV (a/n: Please forgive me for keep switching POVs…)

I padded through the tunnel into ThunderClan, with my apprentice, Hollypaw, at my side. She was a white she-cat with small brown patches and bright blue eyes, and certainly a handful.

"Good," I mewed. "Now, put your catch in the fresh-kill pile, okay?"

"Sure, Spiderpelt!" exclaimed my apprentice, and hurried over to the pile.

Cloudtail and his apprentice, Birchpaw, were there. Birchpaw was a light brown tabby tom with black stripes. Hollypaw nudged her brother affectionately.

Ferncloud and her friend Squirreltail padded through the tunnel, both carrying prey. Since her kits had become apprentices, Ferncloud had carried on with her warrior duties.

I saw Leafstorm go to check on Mousefur. The senior warrior had caught a bit of whitecough, but would be all right. Leafstorm was still considered Cinderpelt's apprentice, but had been given her warrior name recently because she was a true medicine cat.

I have to check on the kits, I thought, and headed toward the nursery.

There were four queens inside the nursery now. Goldenflower was still there, watching over the kits, and Sorreltail had fallen in love with Ashfur, and her two kits, Barkkit and Powderkit, were five moons old and would soon be apprenticed. Then there was Whiteflower, who had become a warrior at the same time I had. Her mate was Shrewclaw, and she had a single kit: Branchkit, at three moons.

And then, sitting next to Dragonheart, was Glacierclaw. My mate. She had three kits that had been born a moon ago: Spiralkit, Nightkit, and Ashenkit. Two she-cats and a tom. Glacierclaw had had an apprentice, Larchpaw, but it had been given to Rainwhisker because she had given birth.

I padded over to her and pressed my nose against her flank.

"Hello, Glacierclaw," I mewed to her.

* * *

Yes! Finished!

Sucky ending, but ah well.

Sorry, no Squirreltail x Brambleclaw in this fic, I don't really like that pairing. Oh yeah, and Whitepaw became Whiteflower because I keep forgetting that Whitepaw is a she-cat. –-;;

Sigh…Ashfur and Sorreltail? Sorry, I was kind of running out of ideas…

Oh yeah, and Leafstorm: I thought I should make Leafpaw a warrior even though Cinderpelt is still alive. I decided on a 'storm' because of Sand_storm_, you know, and Bramble_claw_ and Tiger_claw_ – I thought it would work that way.

Anyway, I haven't a clue what I will write next. I think it will be a sequel to this one, about their kits and all, like the New Prophecy. And God, it will be more than nine chapters.

Review!


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